LONDON (AP) — West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan stepped down on Saturday ahead of what the English soccer club called “historic allegations” to be made against him.
In a statement, West Ham said Sullivan had left his leadership post after he was “made aware of the impending publication of serious historic allegations.”
The club said it “understood none of the allegations relate to West Ham United or any of its operations.”
West Ham added that Sullivan denied any wrongdoing but had decided to step down to “avoid disruption” to the club while he handles the undisclosed matter “privately.”
It gave no further information on what the allegations could be or who would make them.
West Ham also separately published a statement from Sullivan.
Sullivan said that he had stepped down after becoming aware of “factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life due to be broadcast and published.”
Sullivan, 77, published porn magazines and films in the late 1970s and 1980s.
“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. I categorically deny these claims," he said.
“None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football.”
Sullivan got involved in soccer when he bought into Birmingham City in 1993. He left in 2009 and a year later bought a stake in West Ham.
West Ham, based in east London, was relegated from the Premier League this season.
The club said that interim CEO Karim Virani would continue to manage the club’s daily operations.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join the San Mateo Daily Journal in Fiesta Hall at the Community Expo at the San Mateo County Fair! Read moreSan Mateo Community Expo at the Fair
Join New York Times bestselling author Caroline Paul for a lively discussion of her book Tou… Read moreBook Club with Author Caroline Paul
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.