Why West Ham fans are protesting and why this is just the start

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Evening Standard

·19 settembre 2025

Why West Ham fans are protesting and why this is just the start

David Sullivan and Karren Brady to face protests at the London Stadium this weekend ahead of Crystal Palace game

West Ham fans are set to stage two protests against chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady ahead of Saturday’s game at home to Crystal Palace.

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Supporters’ group Hammers United has organised the first of many planned protests this season and believe it could be backed by several thousand fans.

The protest will take a route along Marshgate Lane from Pudding Mill Lane station up to the directors’ entrance at the London Stadium.

Meanwhile, fellow supporters’ group Crossed Hammers are hosting a smaller, splinter protest in which they expect several hundred fans to march from Stratford station to the ground via the Carpenters’ Arms pub. The protest will also end at the directors’ entrance.

West Ham chairman David Sullivan at the Tottenham game last weekend

Getty Images

Hammers United say their protest is the start of “a sustained season-long campaign and a series of protests which must be vigorous, but within the law.”

Hammers United spokesperson Paul Colborne told Standard Sport that they want Sullivan and Brady to stand down.

“Brady and Sullivan have ripped the heart and soul out of our club,” he said.

“Brady and Sullivan have to either leave the club or step down from the every day running of the club, and the board appoints professional full-time executives to take our club forward, left without interference by the board to do their job.”

The protests come two weeks after West Ham’s Fan Advisory Board (FAB), who represent more than 25,000 supporters, issued a vote of no confidence in the board, citing the club’s failure to adequately build on their Conference League victory in 2023 as well as the matchday experience at the London Stadium.

In a letter, the FAB said: “You told us that our move to the London Stadium would take us to the next level. The reality is, our commercial revenues are now dwarfed by our supposed rivals.

“Supporters find themselves casting envious glances at the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Brentford and Crystal Palace, all of whom outperform West Ham United both on and off the pitch.”

The FAB, who are supporting the protests, have said they expect wholesale changes and no further board interference, with priority given to bringing people to the club who have football and commercial expertise.

West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady

AFP via Getty Images

“We need professional full-time executives with both football and commercial expertise, and no further board interference, no more dependence on favoured agents, in short, a move to a competitive professional leadership,” they said. “The recently quoted description ‘analogue club in a digital world’ is very apt and has to change.”

That letter took those inside West Ham by surprise, with the FAB having met with the club three days before the season started. Brady attended the meeting, which the club felt was productive.

Following the letter, West Ham held a “positive and productive” meeting with FAB at the London Stadium on September 11 and issued a statement on Wednesday in a bid to “reassure” fans.

“West Ham United recognises the views expressed in recent correspondence from supporter representatives on the Fan Advisory Board and wishes to reassure all supporters that we continue to listen to fan feedback and advise them on the steps we are taking for the future well-being of the football club,” the statement read.

“We accept that results and performances on the pitch over the past two seasons have not met the standards we set for ourselves.

“Nobody at the club is satisfied with that, and the Board of Directors have spent a great deal of time looking at the decisions that have been made across the football operation, in order to inform an improved strategy going forward.

“Our focus now is firmly on the future and building a team that can once again compete consistently in domestic competitions and in Europe.”

The FAB subsequently released a summary of the minutes from the emergency meeting on September 11, in which they posed several questions that they expect the board to reply to when they have a scheduled meeting in October:

- When will the club move to a professional governance model (which they believe is a CEO + Director of Football with autonomy)?

- What credible financial strategy will enable consistent squad investment and prevent PSR concerns?

- How will the club balance revenue generation with fan experience, inclusion, and equality?

- Where is our heritage, and why has it not been displayed seven years since the written commitment by the board was made?

- What is the five-year vision for West Ham United on and off the pitch?

- What structural changes will ensure genuine, timely, and meaningful supporter engagement in future decision-making?

- What is the long-term footballing vision for recruitment, youth development, and European competitiveness?

On the protests, West Ham head coach Graham Potter said in his pre-match press conference that while he respects supporters’ right to protest, everyone at West Ham was “hurting” and wanted the club to succeed.

Potter said: “We have to just focus on the game. It’s as simple as that. That’s what we’re here for. That’s our job. We completely respect the supporters’ right to protest or to speak because clearly, the most important people are the fans. That’s what the football club’s here for.

“But as I said before, everyone connected with West Ham that I’ve dealt with, everyone’s the same. Everyone loves the club. Everyone wants the club to do well. Everybody wants the club to succeed and everyone’s hurting. That’s my feeling.”