What now for West Ham after Sullivan allegations?

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.

Sullivan has adopted a very involved approach to running West Ham.

Historically, while Gold was a visual presence at the training ground, Sullivan concentrated on being across all the club’s important deals, particularly player transfers.

West Ham has not relied as heavily on data for its recruitment as other clubs, like Brighton and Brentford, with far smaller fanbases.

Some think this may have led to what many supporters feel has been chronic underachievement which – coupled with the controversial move to London Stadium in 2016 that came with promises of contending for major honours, but has never materialised – has led to widespread protests against the ownership for a number of years.

This culminated last month with relegation to the Championship after 14 years in the Premier League.

Over the years, Sullivan, Gold and vice-chair Karren Brady took the brunt of criticism from supporters. The abuse was cited by one senior club source as a reason why Brady, who worked with Sullivan from 1993 – when she was appointed managing director at Birmingham aged 23 – resigned in April.

Brady is one of numerous senior figures to leave the club in recent months.

Executive director Tara Warren stood down after 17 years working closely with Brady in December. She is now working for the IFR.

In April, another executive director, Nathan Thompson, who had been credited with delivering “record-breaking commercial growth” in his nine and a half years at the club, also left.

In October, following the dismissal of manager Graham Potter, head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay also departed. Since the season finished Max Hahn left his role as head of technical recruitment and analysis.

While there are senior staff at West Ham capable of fulfilling the tasks required to run a major football club, as recently as 3 June, Sullivan was still giving the impression of being at the centre of all major transfer dealings at the start of a summer viewed as crucial.

Sullivan had expressed very clear views on the future of West Ham’s most sought-after players, Mateus Fernandes and skipper Jarrod Bowen. He knows the likely financial gap that needs to be bridged as West Ham face their first season outside the top flight since 2012. He was also at the centre of the discussions that led to manager Nuno Espirito Santo remaining at the club next season, when it had seemed as though he would also exit.

Next season is crucial for West Ham in their attempt to return to the Premier League at the first opportunity, given the huge hit in revenue of being outside the top flight.

With no Sullivan family involvement in the decision-making process at West Ham, eyes will focus on Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold.

In October 2023, Gold said she would consider selling a proportion of her stake “to the right partner”. So far, there has been no deal.

In recent weeks, speculation has increased that Kretinsky could take his stake in the club to 40%, which would be matched by Sullivan, as a way of helping to meet the Premier League’s current financial rules by the 30 June reporting date. Those rules will change next season.

Another way of ‘balancing the books’, at a club that reported losses of £104.2m in its most recent accounts to 31 May 2025 and is forecast to lose another hefty sum in the 2026 financial year, would be to sell players.

Kretinsky’s influence at West Ham is expected to grow.

A billionaire businessman, Kretinsky’s companies own a gas pipeline that has transported Russian gas to Europe. He also owns leading Czech football club Sparta Prague, is the largest shareholder in supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and, since April 2025, Royal Mail.

The 50-year-old rarely gives interviews. However, speaking to Czech podcast Vsechno zacina dnes – in a chat that has been translated by the BBC – in the days before West Ham’s relegation was confirmed, Kretinsky was asked if he would stay on if the club went down.

“Definitely,” he said.

“It doesn’t relate to whether we are in the first or second tier. Going down to the second tier is not a reason to leave the club. A reason for that would be if we could not agree on a common strategy or there was a fundamental problem at shareholder level.

“If we were to be relegated, I would seek every path to make sure West Ham return as quickly as possible to the Premier League.”

Asked if that might include taking a bigger stake in the club, Kretinsky said: “We will see what is offered.”

Greater involvement for Kretinsky would be met with enthusiasm by many supporters.

“West Ham United supporters want a club that reflects the values of decency, integrity and accountability,” said the prominent Hammers United fans group in the wake of the Panorama broadcast.

“While David Sullivan has now stepped away from his role at West Ham United, the focus should not be on football or club politics. It should be on ensuring that those affected are heard and that any outstanding questions are properly examined.

They added that their attention remained firmly on the women “whose experiences are at the heart of this programme”.

For now Karim Virani, who was appointed interim chief executive on 29 April in the wake of Brady’s exit – returning to the club he left in 2020 after five years leading its digital, marketing and commercial operation – will try to steer the club through the turbulence.

Secretary Andrew Pincher will also play a significant role. So too long-serving and highly respected financial director Andy Mollett, who is retiring in July. The recruitment process to replace him is under way but not yet concluded.

And then there is Nuno, who will try and repeat his achievement at Wolves in 2018 by leading West Ham to promotion.

Pre-season training starts on 6 July with the first friendly games, due to be announced in the coming days, shortly after.

The 2026-27 campaign starts in earnest with the EFL Cup first round – which West Ham will be in – on 8-9 August. The league season begins the week after that.