West Ham have been relegated from the Premier League despite a valiant effort on the final day of the season, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo insisting his side deserved to stay up. ‘I’m disappointed,’ Nuno said. ‘West Ham deserve to be in the Premier League.’ The club’s relegation was confirmed after results elsewhere went against them, though the exact margin of their final-day defeat was not disclosed.
Separately, Brighton have been forced to cancel a pre-season friendly against French second-tier side Annecy after their training pitches in Evian-les-Bains were damaged by helicopters used during the G7 summit in June. Among the world leaders who flew in were US president Donald Trump, former UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron. Brighton staff arrived at the hotel on Wednesday to prepare for the camp, which was scheduled from 23 July to 1 August, but found the pitches unusable. The camp has been abandoned and Saturday’s friendly will not go ahead. Brighton have instead arranged an alternative camp in Austria and their match against Strasbourg next Saturday is still expected to be played. Fabian Hurzeler’s squad have remained in the UK and will play an in-house match behind closed doors on Saturday before flying to Austria on Sunday.
“West Ham relegated despite Nuno's belief they deserved to stay; Brighton cancel friendly after G7 summit helicopters damaged pitches.”
