West Ham confirm only a handful of staff knew about secret David Sullivan ban from youth and women's teams

West Ham have confirmed that only a small group of staff were aware of a 2023 decision to bar former co-chairman David Sullivan from engaging with the club’s youth and women’s teams, citing strict confidentiality obligations tied to the safeguarding process.

The club’s first public statement since the restrictions emerged this week said the measures were agreed jointly by West Ham, the Football Association, and the Newham Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) — the local authority’s safeguarding body — following a complaint lodged with the FA three years ago. Sullivan, the club said, was the only board member who knew the restrictions existed.

The statement drew a clear line between those 2023 measures and the more serious allegations published this week following a joint investigation by the BBC and The Times. Those claims relate to Sullivan’s conduct during his time working in the adult industry in the 1990s. West Ham said the full board was first alerted to the possibility of such allegations approximately one month ago, when Sullivan himself told them something might appear in the media — though he provided no detail about the nature or severity of what was coming.

“The details and severity of the allegations, which Mr Sullivan denies, only became apparent when they were made public on Monday,” the club said.

Sullivan stepped down as joint-chairman on Saturday, ahead of the allegations being published. He has denied all claims made against him and has indicated he intends to pursue legal action.

The London Stadium’s owners had separately raised concerns about not being informed of the 2023 safeguarding restrictions, a point West Ham addressed directly in their statement. The club insisted the confidentiality rules that govern such safeguarding processes meant disclosure was strictly limited.

“This meant that only a very limited number of West Ham employees were informed of these measures, and these individuals were bound by strict confidentiality rules,” the statement read. “None of the board representatives of shareholders other than David Sullivan were aware of these measures until they were reported in the media this week.”

The club was emphatic that the original FA complaint and the more recent media allegations are entirely separate matters.