Sullivan expected to attend West Ham EFL Cup tie despite advice not to

West Ham is anticipating David Sullivan to attend their upcoming Carabao Cup first-round match against Portsmouth on Saturday, despite being counseled against it. The 77-year-old, who recently resigned from his co-chair position at the club, is the club's largest shareholder, holding a 38.8% stake. A spokesperson for London Stadium, where the match will be held, informed BBC News that the stadium had advised West Ham to prevent Sullivan from attending matches due to concerns about potential fan unrest.

The club was previously made aware of Sullivan's restrictions by London Stadium, which include a ban on contact with the club's women's and youth teams for the past three years and a prior ban from the club's premises following a historical allegation raised with the Football Association in 2023. This ban came after an investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times revealed that seven women had accused Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behavior.

Despite this, West Ham has managed to stabilize on the pitch, with key figures such as manager Nuno Espirito Santo and captain Jarrod Bowen staying committed to the club. However, off the pitch, there remains significant uncertainty. Vanessa Gold, daughter of Sullivan's late business partner and former co-chair David, recently backed out of a deal to sell part of her shares to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and instead agreed to sell her entire 25.1% stake to Amanda Staveley, the public face of the Saudi Arabia-backed takeover at Newcastle.

Kretinsky has since sold a small portion of his stake, leaving him with less than 25%, which would allow him to acquire Gold's shares under West Ham's pre-emption rights rules. If Kretinsky were to do so, he would become West Ham's biggest shareholder, but he would not be obligated to acquire the remaining shares, thereby avoiding triggering another clause that would compel him to purchase the entire club.

The match against Portsmouth is expected to break attendance records for an EFL Cup first-round tie, with West Ham having sold 55,000 season tickets for the new campaign.