West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has been barred from any contact with the club's women's and youth teams for the past three years, after the Football Association opened a safeguarding investigation in 2023 following allegations about his conduct.
The restrictions, which also prevent him from attending their matches, were imposed by a safeguarding group comprising the club, the FA and the local authority. They remain in place today, even as Sullivan continued to appear in the director's box for men's team games at the London Stadium and remained the club's largest shareholder.
“West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has been banned from contact with women's and youth teams since 2023 after an FA safeguarding investigation.”
Sullivan has not responded to a request for comment but has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing. He resigned as co-chair and a director of West Ham on Saturday, ahead of an investigation by the BBC and the Times in which multiple women accused the billionaire businessman of abusing his power and preying on them for sex.
Denying the allegations, Sullivan said he wanted to focus on fighting what he called "factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life", describing the investigation as "fundamentally unfair".
The allegations span decades when Sullivan made a fortune from pornography, newspapers and football. All come from women who were in their late teens or early twenties and were young models seeking work at Sullivan's Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.
The BBC and Times investigation also revealed that eight women, including one who was part of the investigation, have gone to the police with disclosures about Sullivan's conduct. None of those cases have resulted in charges. The Metropolitan Police said it takes such allegations "extremely seriously" and "any information or evidence provided to police will be assessed and the appropriate enquiries carried out".
The Independent Football Regulator said it contacted West Ham over "extremely serious allegations" raised about Sullivan and said it was seeking "urgent information" from him about his suitability for the role.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's spokesperson called the women's accounts "harrowing". Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy described the latest revelations as "utterly horrifying".
West Ham and the Football Association both said they have robust safeguarding measures but cannot comment on individual cases.