David Sullivan banned from contact with West Ham women's and youth teams since 2023

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has been banned from having interaction with the club's women's and younker teams for the past 3 years due to the fact that of safeguarding concerns.

The Football Association opened a safeguarding probe successful 2023 aft receiving allegations astir the behaviour of Sullivan, the co-owner and past the co-chair, of West Ham United.

In response, a safeguarding radical made up of the club, the FA and the section authorization decided to forestall Sullivan from having entree to his ain club's younker and women's teams, the BBC has learned.

He has besides been prevented from attending their matches, with the prohibition remaining successful spot to the contiguous day. Sullivan has not respond to a petition for comment, but has antecedently said helium denies allegations of wrongdoing.

The restrictions were not made nationalist and Sullivan remained a salient fig successful the club, regularly appearing successful the director's container for the men's squad games astatine the London Stadium.

He remains the club's largest shareholder, though helium resigned arsenic co-chair and a manager of West Ham connected Saturday up of the BBC and Times investigation, successful which aggregate women accused the billionaire businessman of abusing his powerfulness and preying connected them for sex.

Denying the allegations, helium said helium wanted to absorption connected warring what helium called "factually incorrect and wholly false, decades-old allegations concerning my idiosyncratic life", describing the probe arsenic "fundamentally unfair".

West Ham and the Football Association some said they person robust safeguarding measures but cannot remark connected idiosyncratic cases.

The allegations span decades erstwhile Sullivan made a luck from pornography, newspapers and football.

All travel from women who were successful their precocious teens oregon aboriginal twenties and were young models seeking enactment astatine Sullivan's Daily and Sunday Sport newspapers.

The BBC and Times probe besides revealed that 8 women, including 1 who was portion of the investigation, person gone to the constabulary with disclosures astir Sullivan's conduct. None of those cases person resulted successful charges.

The Metropolitan Police said it takes specified allegations "extremely seriously" and "any accusation oregon grounds provided to constabulary volition beryllium assessed and the due enquiries carried out".

The Independent Football Regulator said it contacted West Ham implicit "extremely superior allegations" raised astir Sullivan and said it was seeking "urgent information" from him astir his suitability for the role.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's spokesperson called the women's accounts "harrowing".

Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones, the erstwhile victims curate and Labour MP, said she was "horrified but sadly not amazed erstwhile she archetypal heard of the allegations against David Sullivan".

She called for a reappraisal of however the constabulary person handled disclosures made astir Sullivan, and into what enactment had been taken by the FA and West Ham.

West Ham said it had wide and robust safeguarding measures successful spot and the nine was incapable to remark oregon supply details connected "any idiosyncratic safeguarding substance arsenic per modular signifier successful the industry".

In his resignation statement, Sullivan said that "after a beingness spent gathering businesses successful the big manufacture successful which I person met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a tiny fig of improper behaviour claims are being made against me".

The 77-year-old had held the associated president presumption for 16 years, and was the club's largest azygous shareholder pursuing the decease of his concern partner, David Gold, successful January 2023.