Former West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan attended West Ham’s League Cup victory against Portsmouth despite advice not to.
Sullivan resigned as West Ham co-chair in June following a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times in which seven women made allegations of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour against him. Sullivan categorically denies the allegations.
A London Stadium spokesman told the BBC on Monday that it had “recommended” to West Ham that Sullivan does not attend matches.
Officials are understood to have requested advance notice of the businessman’s attendance, who retains a 38.8 per cent stake in West Ham.
West Ham got off to winning ways against Portsmouth with a convincing 3-1 victory despite going behind in the contest.
Taty Castellanos scored a brace, and Jarrod Bowen chipped in to see the Irons through to the second round.
Despite Sullivan’s presence in the stands, West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santos insisted his side “are focused on the pitch”.
He said: “The noise that comes from outside cannot distract us. We’re going to find a lot of noise, so we need to focus on the game, do our job, and the players did.
David Sullivan attended West Ham’s League Cup victory despite advice not to
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“It is good to start with a win, especially at home with 50,000 fans inside the stadium. We can’t thank them enough; it’s amazing.”
West Ham are preparing for life in the Championship after suffering relegation from the Premier League last season, bringing an end to their 15-year stay in the top flight.
The Irons kick off their league campaign away to Burnley, who also came down with them.
Nuno felt his side played well against Portsmouth, which they can build on when they travel to Turf Moor.
Taty Castellanos scored twice as West Ham beat Portsmouth 3-1
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He said: “I think it was a good performance, but we didn’t start the game well.
“This has to be a lesson for us to understand what the game requires.
“We didn’t go in the flow of the game, we just only started really playing the way we wanted to after we scored, and then we started combining, and after that it was a very good performance of the boys.
“The goals were all good combinations, but it’s what I’m telling you.”
Nuno Espirito Santos said: ‘We must, from minute one, just try to do better’
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Nuno continued: “I’m delighted that happened; I want to see that, and we need to see that many, many times.
“Because this is how we want to do things, and the boys, when they score, they get confidence, and you can see that everything changed from there on.
“So, that’s very good. We must, from minute one, just try to do better.”
