Key events
West Ham have also released a statement on Sullivan’s resignation.
It reads: “West Ham United can confirm that Joint-Chair David Sullivan has stepped down from his position with immediate effect.
“Mr Sullivan has also resigned as a director of both WH Holding Limited and West Ham United Football Club, having been made aware of the impending publication of serious historic allegations. It is understood none of the allegations relate to West Ham United or any of its operations.
“Through his own legal representatives Mr Sullivan denies any illegal conduct and has taken the decision to step down in order to avoid disruption to the Club while he addresses the matter privately.
“Interim Chief Executive Officer Karim Virani, reporting into the current Board of Directors, will continue to be responsible for leading the Club’s day-to-day operations. The Club will provide an update on the future structure of the Board of Directors in due course, but will make no further comment at this time.”
The full statement from David Sullivan:
“I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.
“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.
“I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.
“I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication. I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libelous allegations.
“None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football; West Ham United has been one of the greatest passions and privileges of my life. I care deeply about the club, its supporters, its players, its staff, and its future. At what is already a challenging and important time for the club, I refuse to allow personal matters concerning me to become an unnecessary distraction or a source of instability.
“Therefore, after very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as Joint-Chair and Director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect.
“This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward.
“I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations. I have officially engaged my legal team and we are preparing to issue legal proceedings in respect of each and every false complaint that has been made against me. I will be seeking full redress, legally and publicly, on every single front.
“As I depart, I want to thank everyone connected with West Ham United, past and present, for the loyalty, friendship, memories and European adventures and successes that I will carry with me forever. West Ham United will always remain close to my heart, and I have total confidence that the Board of Directors and interim Chief Executive Officer Karim Virani will do everything they can to take the club forward in the right direction. I wish everyone connected with the club every success in the future.
“I will not be making further public comment at this stage, but I reserve all legal rights available to me in relation to any false or defamatory allegations.”
David Sullivan steps down as West Ham chairman
David Sullivan has announced his resignation as joint-chair and director of West Ham with immediate effect in a statement.
He said: “I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published…”
Speaking of predictions, you can guess the pathways to the final with our special bracketology page. Be sure to save it for the tournament so that you can see how you got on.
As always, feel free to message in today with any thoughts, feelings and observations. You can also leave a comment below the line.
Today’s question is: Who will win the World Cup?
Iran has slammed World Cup co-hosts the United States over what it called “discriminatory treatment” by not granting visas for some members of the Iranian national team’s delegation to attend the tournament.
Fifa has again amended its water bottle policy for the World Cup in North America, allowing fans to bring in one sealed, disposable 20-ounce (590ml) bottle into stadiums.
Ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confirmed reusable bottles were no longer permitted.
Thomas Tuchel admitted he was “a little bit worried” about the state of the pitch that his England stars will be playing on when they face New Zealand tonight. A photo of the patchy playing surface went viral on social media this week, sparking concern from fans.
Meanwhile, Tuchel said: “It will not affect my team selection because what I have heard until now is that it should be OK and we want it, of course, to be OK.
“I saw just a photo from a colleague that made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there. If there are any issues, we can always react to it. The plan is tomorrow to play 45, 45 minutes with two complete teams, to expose everyone to the same amount of minutes.
“Then we can continue the next three days with the same load of training. That is the plan, and at the moment we stick to the plan.”
Thomas Tuchel has claimed that Harry Kane is ready to lead England to glory at the World Cup. The Bayern Munich striker has been short of fitness at previous major tournaments but looks in peak physical condition in the build-up to this one.
Tuchel said: “He looks in top shape. He looks lean, sharp and he trains at the highest level. We had a defensive training session today and he was leading the intensity. He is so used to the high press from Bayern Munich and the intensive game that they play in the opponents’ half. He is leading by example. I think he is in the best shape.
“He is ready to go. We don’t have to be worried about him at all, even if it is hot in June. He has showed me the whole week that he is ready. He is our key player.”
Tom Garry
As the game ticked into second-half stoppage time, Spain were almost showboating, Aitana Bonmatí flicking the ball around the pitch with grace, style and a swagger that sent out an emphatic message: Spain are significantly better than England.
On a balmy evening in Palma, the world champions taught the European champions a painful lesson. The scoreline was one thing but, more alarmingly, the undeniable gulf in technical ability between the teams gave the Lionesses a brutal reality check, a year out from the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Sarina Wiegman admitted she “expected a different game” between the Lionesses and Spain last night. The England manager said: “Of course it hurts. I expected a totally different game. I expected a very tight game, a very competitive game, but it was different tonight, so that’s of course really disappointing and that hurts.”
She went on to add: “We were really struggling to keep the ball and find the passes further away or in behind. They played really well and we didn’t play so well. Out of possession, we were really struggling to stay compact, especially in our own half … our connections weren’t so good and they found the space we left straight away.”
Some stats/facts for you on last night’s game:
It was England’s heaviest defeat in 17 years. They had not lost by a four-goal margin since the Euro 2009 final – a 6-2 loss to Germany.
It was the first time the Lionesses had conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
Prior to the match, England had not lost a qualifier since November 2002.
Let’s start by looking back at what happened last night. England suffered their worst defeat under Sarina Wiegman in a 4-0 thrashing by Spain. If you missed it, be sure to read the match report below…
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! England kick off their final World Cup preparations with a warm-up match against New Zealand tonight. The Three Lions arrived in Florida on Monday and have been acclimatising to the (very) warm weather. Some concerns have already been raised about the pitch they will play on, however. We will touch on that a bit more later on.
Meanwhile, the Lionesses suffered a dent in their World Cup qualification hopes last night with a 4-0 loss to Spain. England needed just a draw from the clash to punch their ticket to Brazil, but they will now likely have to go through additional qualifiers.
Scotland are also in action later today as they face Bolivia. We’ll be looking ahead to that as we get closer to kick-off.
All of that and more to come!
