West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has been advised to stay away from the club’s home matches at the London Stadium following allegations of historic sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for London Stadium has told Standard Sport that they have “recommended” to West Ham that Sullivan does not attend the club’s home games due to concerns over potential fan unrest. They added that while they understand West Ham do not consider there to be an ongoing safeguarding risk regarding Sullivan’s attendance at the London Stadium, they have asked for “advance notice of any planned attendance so that appropriate safety and operational measures can be put in place.”
Sullivan was accused of historic allegations of sexually-exploitative behaviour. He categorically denied the claims made against him in the investigation, which saw seven women come forward.
Sullivan subsequently vowed to fight the allegations after stepping down from the role which he had held since 2010. It later emerged Sullivan had been banned from contact with West Ham's women's and youth teams since 2023. His suspension from doing so came after allegations and a safeguarding investigation, with Sullivan unable to attend matches involving either side. Sullivan has said of the action by the FA: “I wish to clarify recent media reports regarding a negotiated agreement with the Football Association, which has been inaccurately described as a disciplinary ‘ban’. “In my entire 16 years at West Ham I have never met any academy or women’s team players one-to-one, therefore I negotiated and temporary agreement with the FA not to do so until the FA resolved an outstanding complaint in relation to a single anonymous complaint regarding an event in 1981. “The complaint had nothing to do about my time in football and it never happened. I saw it as a meaningless restriction, as it didn’t impact on my work in any way. Therefore, I accepted it for a quiet life.”