Kretinsky to become West Ham's largest shareholder

Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is set to become the largest shareholder of West Ham United, a significant shift in the club's ownership following the resignation of longtime co-chairman David Sullivan amid serious allegations of misconduct. Kretinsky's investment vehicle, 1890s Holdings, has agreed to purchase a portion of shares from Vanessa Gold, increasing his stake from 27 percent to approximately 43 percent. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

The ownership change comes after Sullivan resigned as a director and co-chairman on June 6, just before the publication of a joint investigation by the Times newspaper and the BBC's Panorama program. The investigation reported allegations from seven women accusing Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behavior dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. Sullivan has categorically denied all the allegations.

In a joint statement released on Saturday, Kretinsky and Vanessa Gold said they were "deeply concerned" by the revelations and that their thoughts were with the women who came forward. They stated that the full West Ham board was only notified by Sullivan about the potential publication of the...