West Ham Co-Owner David Sullivan Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations

West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has strongly denied allegations of sexual misconduct after the Independent Football Regulator confirmed it is seeking information to assess his suitability under its owners, directors and senior executives regime.

The regulator said it was “in contact” with West Ham and would use its statutory powers to obtain “urgent information” regarding Sullivan following allegations made by multiple women.

The claims, published by the BBC’s Panorama programme and The Times, accuse the billionaire businessman of abusing his position and targeting young women for sex over several decades.

According to the reports, the women were in their late teens or early twenties and were seeking employment as models at Sullivan’s Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Independent Football Regulator described the allegations as “extremely serious” and said it would examine whether there were grounds for concern regarding Sullivan’s involvement at the Premier League club.

A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “These deeply concerning allegations must be treated with the utmost seriousness and be investigated by the relevant authorities, with victims given the support they need.”

The spokesperson added: “The Government stands strongly against any form of harassment or abuse of power in the workplace and is working across industries to stamp it out and build an environment where people feel safe and able to challenge inappropriate behaviour.”

Sullivan has categorically rejected the allegations and maintained that he has engaged in no illegal conduct.

The 77-year-old stepped down from his role as West Ham’s joint chairman before the allegations were published. Announcing his resignation, Sullivan said he wanted to concentrate on defending himself against what he called “factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations” concerning his personal life.

He also criticised the Panorama and The Times investigation as “fundamentally unfair”.

Sullivan added: “After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me.”

West Ham said Sullivan had denied any “illegal conduct” and was stepping aside “to avoid disruption to the club while he addresses the matter privately”.

Sullivan became West Ham’s largest individual shareholder following the death of his long-time business partner, David Gold, in January 2023. He has been a prominent figure at the club for 16 years.

Due to the allegation, he has resigned from his position as West Ham joint-chair with immediate effect on Saturday.