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London Stadium and West Ham’s women’s team were unaware of David Sullivan’s contact ban. 3 days ago. Hannah Price,. William Kenberand. Ich bin unsicher. Was ist denn los? London Stadium, which owns and operates West Ham United’s home ground, has expressed concern that it was not informed about safeguarding restrictions imposed on co-owner David Sullivan, the BBC understands.

The venue says it would expect to be notified of such matters so it could assess any risk and ensure appropriate measures were in place to protect its staff, contractors and members of the public.

The Football Association launched a safeguarding investigation in 2023 after receiving allegations concerning Sullivan’s conduct while he was co-chairman of West Ham.

In response, a safeguarding panel comprising the club, the FA and the local authority ruled that Sullivan should be barred from having any access to the club’s academy or women’s teams.

The restrictions emerged following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times, which found that multiple women had accused Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, including allegedly pressuring them for sex during business meetings.

Sullivan, 77, has “categorically” denied the allegations, which relate to the period when he built his fortune in pornography, newspapers and football.

London Stadium has written to the club, the FA and the relevant local authority seeking further details about the process and why it was not made aware of the restrictions.

Neither West Ham’s women’s team nor the Women’s Super League were informed of any limits on Sullivan’s access to or interactions with the team.

A West Ham spokesperson told the BBC that, in line with best practice agreed with independent external bodies, only those directly involved in the safeguarding process were informed. They said the number of people made aware is deliberately kept to a minimum.

In a statement regarding the measures, Sullivan said a temporary agreement had been reached with the FA that he would not meet academy or women’s players on a one-to-one basis until an historical anonymous complaint had been resolved. He has previously denied any allegations of wrongdoing. Sullivan said that in his 16 years at West Ham he had never met any academy or women’s team players on a one-to-one basis. He insisted the complaint “had nothing to do with my time in football and it never happened.” “I saw it as a meaningless restriction, as it didn’t impact on my work in any way, therefore I accepted it for a quiet life,” he said. Sullivan added that it was inaccurate to describe the agreement as a “disciplinary ‘ban’.” The Football Association said it has robust safeguarding measures in place but cannot comment on individual cases. Do you have information relevant to our investigation? Contact us at sullivaninvestigation@bbc.co.uk.

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