Defiant David Sullivan continues to ignore calls to stay away from West Ham matches after allegations of sexual misconduct

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER and OLLIE LEWIS, DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Published: 19:42, 22 August 2026 | Updated: 19:47, 22 August 2026 David Sullivan has continued to ignore calls to stay away from West Ham matches despite allegations of sexual misconduct by seven women.  The defiant West Ham owner, 77, was the subject of a BBC Panorama and Times newspaper investigation earlier this year, which accused him of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour against the alleged victims.  However, despite fears of fan unrest following the investigation, Sullivan, who has denied any wrongdoing, continues to attend the Hammers' games. The 77-year-old was spotted in the crowd watching West Ham's match against Charlton Athletic at London Stadium on Saturday, which saw the home team lose 1-2.  Sporting a dark grey suit and tie, Sullivan was pictured in the stands with his fiancé, 45-year-old model Ampika Pickston, who was wearing a blue dress.  It comes after London Stadium bosses had 'recommended' to West Ham that Sullivan does not attend home matches over concerns of fan unrest following the investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.  Earlier this month it was also reported that the stadium had asked for advance notice of any planned visits so as to implement further safety and operational measures. However the billionaire businessman has continued to defy calls not to attend the club's home games.   West Ham owner David Sullivan, 77, continues to ignore calls to stay away from London Stadium after he turned up to see the Hammers lose 1-2 to Charlton Athletic on Saturday  The billionaire businessman was pictured with his fiance, 45-year-old model Ampika Pickston  Sullivan, who denies any wrongdoing, is West Ham's largest shareholder  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 spokesman for London Stadium previously 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 spokesman 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'. West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has been accused of abusing a number of women and preying on them for sex, but denies the allegations 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'. Daily Mail Sport previously revealed that Sullivan felt he was being 'bullied' by 'keyboard warriors' into staying away.  He was concerned about the lack of transfer activity, now that he's no longer the man signing the cheques. This newspaper was outside the directors' entrance in September when thousands gathered outside to protest against Sullivan's ownership.  Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.