West Ham Faces Turmoil as David Sullivan Returns to London Stadium

West Ham expect David Sullivan to walk back into London Stadium on Saturday, stepping into a storm that has been building for weeks.

The 77-year-old, who resigned as co-chair in June, is planning to attend the Carabao Cup first-round tie against Portsmouth despite being advised to stay away from home matches. His presence would mark the first time he has watched West Ham since a joint BBC Panorama and The Times investigation revealed accusations from seven women of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour.

Sullivan has categorically denied the allegations.

London Stadium officials, wary of the reaction from a fanbase already hostile to Sullivan over years of ownership decisions, have told West Ham they “recommended” he does not attend. Their concern is simple: unrest in the stands, and the operational headache that comes with it.

They have gone further than a quiet word of caution. The stadium has asked the club for advance notice of any visit from Sullivan, who still holds a 38.8% stake and remains a major shareholder, so they can put extra safety and operational measures in place. If he comes, they want to be ready.

Saturday’s tie against fellow Championship side Portsmouth, a 15:00 BST kick-off, was supposed to be a celebration of sorts. A new season, a big crowd, a fresh start after relegation. Instead, it will unfold under the shadow of a scandal that has dragged West Ham into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The Panorama and Times investigation also revealed that Sullivan has been banned from contact with West Ham’s women’s and youth teams for the past three years because of safeguarding concerns. London Stadium officials only discovered those restrictions when the BBC report aired.

That ban followed a historical allegation about Sullivan’s conduct, raised with the Football Association in 2023. He has previously insisted the allegation was false.

None of this arrives in a vacuum. Sullivan had already become a lightning rod for fan anger long before the latest revelations. His stewardship of the club was savaged by supporters as West Ham slid out of the Premier League last season, relegated to the Championship for the first time since 2011. Abuse from the stands became a grim soundtrack to the closing months of the campaign.

On the pitch, at least, the club has found a measure of stability. Nuno Espirito Santo has committed his future as manager. Jarrod Bowen, the skipper and standard-bearer of the squad, has done the same. The football side looks organised, defiant, ready to drag the club back up.

Off the pitch, the picture is anything but clear.

The ownership structure has shifted again. Vanessa Gold, daughter of Sullivan’s late business partner and former co-chair David Gold, had been in talks to sell part of her stake to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Instead, she walked away from that partial sale and agreed to sell her entire 25.1% holding to Amanda Staveley, best known as the public face of the Saudi Arabia-backed takeover at Newcastle.

That move alone would have been enough to reshape the club’s share register. Then came another twist.

Kretinsky has since sold a small part of his own stake, taking his holding under 25%. It is a seemingly technical move with major implications. Under West Ham’s pre-emption rights rules, existing shareholders get first refusal on any shares that come up for sale. By dipping just below that 25% threshold, Kretinsky can now buy Gold’s former stake without triggering a separate clause that would oblige him to purchase the rest of the club.

If he chooses to act, he would become West Ham’s largest shareholder, with greater influence but without the burden of a full takeover. Power at West Ham could shift again, quietly, in the boardroom while the noise rages around Sullivan.

All of this plays out as the club prepares for a crowd that underlines its enduring pull. West Ham have sold 55,000 season tickets for the new campaign, and Saturday’s game is expected to set an attendance record for an EFL Cup first-round tie.

A huge Championship club, a record crowd, a domestic cup tie that should be about football. Instead, all eyes will drift to the directors’ box.

Will David Sullivan take his seat — and if he does, what kind of reception will greet him in a stadium that no longer feels like his stronghold?