David Sullivan 'advised to stay away from West Ham's London Stadium' amid fears of fan unrest following Panorama investigation into owner's alleged sexual misconduct

By OLLIE LEWIS, DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Published: 22:26, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 23:01, 3 August 2026 West Ham owner David Sullivan is reportedly set to defy advice to stay away from the club's London Stadium amid fears of fan unrest following allegations of sexual misconduct. Sullivan, 77, was the subject of a BBC Panorama and The Times investigation earlier this year, which alleged sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour by the Hammers owner against seven women. Sullivan denies any wrongdoing. West Ham play their home matches at the London Stadium and the BBC reports that venue bosses had 'recommended' to the club that Sullivan does not attend home matches over concerns of fan unrest. The stadium has also reportedly asked for advance notice of any planned visits so as to implement further safety and operational measures. The report adds, however, that the billionaire businessman is expected to defy the request and has told London Stadium this. David Sullivan is reportedly set to defy orders to stay away from West Ham's London Stadium Sullivan stepped down as joint chairman of West Ham shortly before Panorama's investigation went to air, insisting he wanted to focus on fighting 'factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life.' The 77-year-old is the Championship club's largest shareholder. The investigation found that Sullivan has been banned from contact with the club's women's and youth teams for the past three years due to safeguarding concerns after a historical allegation into his alleged conduct was raised with the FA in 2023. Sullivan has denied the allegation and says he has never met any academy or women's player 'one-to-one' during his 16-year tenure at West Ham. A spokesperson for London Stadium said that 'following media reports at the end of the season regarding a safeguarding matter being managed by the club, London Stadium sought further information to ensure it could fulfil its own safeguarding responsibilities'. The spokesperson added that West Ham had responded, saying the 'matter was investigated and that the club does not consider there to be an ongoing safeguarding risk associated with Mr Sullivan attending the stadium'. The London Stadium upheld its recommendation that Sullivan stay away from games due to the risk of "potential for demonstrations and anti-social behaviour by some spectators". West Ham start their season on Saturday August 8 in the Carabao Cup against Portsmouth at the London Stadium. West Ham have declined to comment.   Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.