The company that owns and operates West Ham United’s home ground has said it was not told about safeguarding restrictions imposed on the club’s co‑owner David Sullivan – and that it “would expect to be informed” so it could “assess risk” and protect staff, contractors and the public.
London Stadium, which runs the venue where West Ham play, has written to the club, the Football Association and the relevant local authority seeking an explanation, the BBC has learned. The FA opened a safeguarding investigation in 2023 after receiving allegations about Sullivan’s conduct. A subsequent safeguarding group, made up of the club, the FA and the local authority, decided to prevent Sullivan from having access to West Ham’s youth and women’s teams.
“London Stadium and West Ham women's team were not told of David Sullivan's safeguarding restrictions, raising concerns over risk assessment.”
Neither the Women’s Super League nor West Ham United’s women’s team were told about the restrictions, the Guardian has learned. Sources close to the playing squad said the players were “appalled” by the allegations, which they had not known about until the story broke this week.
The restrictions came to light after a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Times in which seven women accused the 77‑year‑old of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including pressuring them for sex during business meetings. The alleged incidents span the period when Sullivan made his fortune from pornography, newspapers and football. Through his lawyers, Sullivan has said he “categorically” denies the claims.
Sullivan said a temporary agreement was negotiated with the FA not to meet academy or women’s team players “1‑2‑1” until a historical anonymous complaint was resolved. He said he had never met any academy or women’s team players 1‑2‑1 during his 16 years at West Ham, and added that the complaint “had nothing to do about my time in football and it never happened”. He described the restriction as “meaningless” and said he accepted it “for a quiet life”, rejecting the term “disciplinary ban”.
A West Ham spokesperson told the BBC that aside from parties directly involved in the safeguarding process, no other external parties were notified because of “best practice safeguarding agreed with independent external bodies”, adding that the number of people informed is intentionally kept to a minimum. Separate sources said it would have been a breach of local authority regulations to tell the league or the women’s team the details of an ongoing case.
The FA said it has “robust safeguarding measures” but cannot comment on individual cases. Sullivan resigned as a West Ham director and co‑chair of the recently relegated men’s Championship club before the claims were published.