BREAKING: Sullivan leaves joint-chair role at West Ham amid “serious historical allegations” | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

David Sullivan has left his role as West Ham joint-chair with immediate effect in anticipation of “serious historical allegations”, after their first relegation from the Premier League in 14 years.

The 77 year old, who bought a 50% share of the Hammers in 2010 alongside the late David Gould, said in a statement published on the club’s website on Saturday afternoon that this is due to several “improper conduct claims” he said are set to be released.

He has also promised that he will take legal action by suing the BBC for defamation, in addition to other news outlets that “repeats any libelous allegations”, which West Ham believe are not related to the club “or any of its operations”.

Sullivan also claimed that no allegation is in relation to his 30 years spent working in football.

In the statement, he said: “I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.

“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.

“I categorically deny these claims.”

Sullvian said that his time at the club, now set to play in the second tier next season, has been “one of the greatest passions” of his life and added that he refuses “to allow personal matters to become an unnecessary distraction.”

Sullivan’s share of 38.8% in West Ham made him the largest shareholder of the club following his business partner David Gould’s passing in January 2023.

The BBC, nor any media outlet, has yet published any material referencing the serious accusations of improper conduct that Sullivan spoke of in his statement to West Ham supporters.

West Ham’s chief executive officer Karim Virani, reporting into the current board of directors, will continue to be responsible for leading the club’s day-to-day operations.

A look back on Sullivan’s tumultuous tenure

David Sullivan and his late business partner David Gould acquired 50% of West Ham United in January 2010, a year before the club finished bottom and were relegated from the Premier League.

Their previous Icelandic owners had been unable to provide any further funding with the financial concerns of their parent companies until new ownership could be found, forcing a restructuring at the top.

But they would return just a year later with Sam Allardyce at the helm, courtesy of Ricardo Vaz Te’s goal against Blackpool in the Championship Playoff final at Wembley.

They would sign former players James Collins and George McCartney for the 2012/13 season, and also bring in new record signing Matt Jarvis and former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll on loan, and enjoyed a 3-1 home win against European champions Chelsea and a tenth place finish.

Hammers fans can look back fondly on these years, when club legend Mark Noble was still orchestrating the midfield and players like Winston Reid and James Tomkins providing a solid foundation at the back.

But prior to the end of the 2012/13 campaign, the club had secured a 99-year lease of the Olympic Stadium – set to host their home matches from the 2016/17 season onwards – which was renamed the London Stadium and developed into a UEFA Category Four 66,000 all-seater.

Vice-chair Karren Brady, who exited the club during the past season, promised fans in 2013 that it would be a “world-class” football venue, yet it remains a highly unpopular move among West Ham supporters to this day.

West Ham famously beat Manchester United 3-2 in their final match at the Boleyn Ground prior to their move to the London Stadium, with Reid scoring a dramatic late header to give their home of 112 years the perfect send-off.

Retired Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho opened the scoring before Michael Antonio levelled the game at 2-2 to cancel out United’s comeback, both representing the club’s far shrewder recruitment in past seasons.

Slaven Bilić would come in to oversee West Ham’s next season, in which they competed in the Europa League playoff round by virtue of winning the Premier League’s now defunct Fair Play table, and finish the next campaign seventh in the table.

Together with the club’s failure to build on their Europa Conference League win in 2024, and the sacking of David Moyes having led the Hammers to a first ever continental triumph, the unrest surrounding their new ground has driven protests throughout the season.

Moyes left the club having finished ninth in the 2023/24 campaign, enjoying a seven year spell at the club save for a season-long stint with former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini in 2017/18 when they ended up in 13th in the Premier League.

Now at Everton, Moyes’ high point came when he led West Ham to sixth and seventh place finishes in back-to-back seasons between 2020 and 2022, the former being overshadowed by the COVID pandemic and ‘Project Restart’.

An organised march took place before Graham Potter’s final match at the London Stadium, a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on the 20th of September, followed by a boycott of Nuno Espirito Santo’s first match in charge of the club.

Supporters also carried out a sit-in protest following a 3-1 victory over Newcastle Untied on the 2nd of November, by which point the club were in serious trouble of their eventual relegation to the second tier.

This season, West Ham spent a total £172.8m on new signings – including Matheus Fernandes, Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Mads Hermansen, Soungoutou Magassa, and January additions Pablo and Taty Castellanos – yet suffered a first relegation in 14 years.

West Ham’s subpar recruitment was compounded by the considerable transfer expenditure and demotion to the second tier, and it is yet to be seen who exactly will stand as the club’s majority shareholder heading into the 2026/27 campaign.

Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský still holds a 27% stake in club, followed by the Vanessa Gold Family Trust (25.1%), and American investor Albert J. Smith (8%), making up the West Ham United ownership board.

Chief executive officer Karim Virani, reporting into the current board of directors, will continue to be responsible for leading the club’s day-to-day operations.