West Ham are expecting David Sullivan to attend Saturday’s Carabao Cup first-round tie against Portsmouth despite him being advised to stay away from home matches at London Stadium.
Sullivan, 77, resigned from his position as co-chair of West Ham in June after a joint investigation by Panorama and The Times revealed that seven women have accused Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour.
He has categorically denied the allegations.
On Monday, a spokesperson for London Stadium told News it had “recommended” to West Ham that Sullivan does not attend matches because of concerns about fan unrest.
London Stadium has asked for advance notice of any planned visits by major shareholder Sullivan – who retains a 38.8% stake in the club – in order to implement additional safety and operational measures.
The match against Portsmouth will be the first the club has played since the allegations against Sullivan were first reported.
The Panorama and Times joint 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 was unaware of the restrictions until the ‘s report.
Sullivan was banned after a historical allegation about his conduct was raised with the Football Association in 2023. He has previously said the allegation was false.
Sullivan had already been the subject of intense fan abuse for his running of the club, who were relegated to the Championship last season for the first time since 2011.
Although West Ham have stabilised on the pitch, with key figures, including manager Nuno Espirito Santo and skipper Jarrod Bowen committing their future to the club, there remains huge uncertainty off it.
Vanessa Gold, daughter of Sullivan’s late business partner and former West Ham co-chair David, backed out of a deal to sell part of her stake in the club to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, and instead reached an agreement with Amanda Staveley, the public face of the Saudi Arabia-backed takeover at Newcastle, to sell her entire 25.1% stake.
However, Kretinsky has since sold a small part of his own stake, bringing him under 25%.
That would allow him to buy Gold’s shares under West Ham’s pre-emption rights rules – which allow existing shareholders first choice to buy shares when they become available.
If he did so he would become West Ham’s biggest shareholder, without triggering another clause that would force him to then buy the rest of the club.
It is anticipated Saturday’s match against fellow Championship side Portsmouth (15:00 BST) will set an attendance record for an EFL Cup first-round tie, with the Hammers having sold 55,000 season tickets for the new campaign.