David Sullivan: What next for West Ham United ownership?

When David Sullivan and long-time business partner David Gold bought into West Ham United in January 2010, Sullivan described the club as being in a “serious mess”.

Many fans may look at West Ham in its current state and ask, ‘what’s changed?’.

Confirmation the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is “in contact” with West Ham and seeking “urgent information” from Sullivan “relating to his suitability” under its owners, directors and senior executives test adds another layer to the general sense of uncertainty around London Stadium.

On 7 June, Sullivan stood down as co-chair at the club saying 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, uncovered by BBC Panorama and the Times, included allegations from seven women that the billionaire abused his power and preyed on them for sex, in some cases when they were in their late teens. Sullivan says he categorically denies the claims.

While the allegations were not focused on West Ham, they will cause huge concern.

In a statement, West Ham said it has clear and robust safeguarding measures in place and that the club is unable to comment or provide details on “any individual safeguarding matter as per standard practice in the industry”.

West Ham was the first Premier League club to be accredited by the charity White Ribbon UK, in recognition of the efforts it was taking to support ending male violence against women and girls.

In a statement, White Ribbon said its accreditation was about organisations “delivering a three-year action plan that works towards improvement” and is “not a statement about, or endorsement of, individuals connected to that organisation”.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the “deeply concerning” allegations against Sullivan must be “treated with the utmost seriousness” and “investigated by the relevant authorities”.

He may have stood down from his co-chair position but Sullivan remains the club’s largest shareholder, with a 38.8% stake. BBC Sport has been told his sons, Jack and David Jr, will not be taking a hands-on role at West Ham.

The club’s next two most significant shareholders are Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold – the daughter of David who died in January 2023 – who own 27% and 25.1% respectively.

In their statement on Sullivan’s resignation, West Ham said “the club will provide an update on the future structure of the board of directors in due course”.

But it is not the only problem West Ham have to deal with.