Shock: 'Child sexual exploitation controversy' 77-year-old male club owner "Total ban on contact with youth teams... investigation launched" Football world turned upside down

*This content was translated by AI.

The football world was turned upside down after it was revealed that the major shareholder of a prestigious English Premier League (EPL) club has been completely banned from accessing the women's team and youth academy on charges of shocking sexual misconduct and violations of child and women's protection.

The UK media outlet 'Daily Mail' reported on the 10th (Korean time) that "David Sullivan (77), the owner of West Ham United, has been completely banned from contacting the West Ham women's team and academy teams since 2023 due to concerns over violations of protection measures," and added that "the English Football Association (FA) has been conducting a rigorous investigation after becoming aware of past historical allegations against owner Sullivan."

According to reports, owner Sullivan is accused of abusing his absolute status and power as the owner of the media outlets he owned, 'Daily Sports' and 'Sunday Sports,' to sexually exploit and hunt young women. Just before these allegations surfaced, Sullivan voluntarily stepped down from his position as co-chairman of West Ham and currently denies all sexual crime allegations against him.

Furthermore, 'The Times' reported that "a protection group composed of the club, the FA, and local authorities has decided to completely block owner Sullivan from accessing the youth teams and women's teams of the club he owns," conveying the seriousness of the situation. Even more shocking is that the FA's secret investigation to protect them is still actively ongoing.

Currently, Sullivan is the largest shareholder, holding 38.8% of West Ham's shares. However, due to this sexual scandal, he faces a crisis of being stripped of his club owner status and forced to sell his shares. 'Daily Mail' exposed that "Sullivan is facing the situation of being forced to sell his West Ham shares," and stated that "an independent football regulatory institutional investor with the authority to remove the club owner and owner has already launched an investigation into this incident and has formally requested relevant information."

Considering the explosive nature of the matter, the relevant institutional investors are speaking extremely cautiously. A FA spokesperson emphasized, "We operate robust protection programs at all levels of English football. All reported cases are handled in accordance with strict and thorough policies and procedures," and added, "We are working closely with legal institutional investors such as the police and are taking all protection allegations and concerns very seriously, conducting thorough investigations."

West Ham Koo Dan (Spokesperson) also adhered to the principle of confidentiality through the media, stating, "West Ham undergoes independent evaluation and audit annually. We have clear and strong protection measures in place," while adding, "In accordance with industry practices, we cannot provide or mention details regarding individual protection matters."

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*This content was translated by AI.