West Ham fans protest and call for board changes

Thousands of West Ham fans have protested against how the club is run and called for chairman David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady to step down.

The demonstrations took place before their home game against Crystal Palace, with Graham Potter's side 18th in the Premier League with only three points from four matches and already out of the Carabao Cup.

Two separate protests close to their London Stadium home saw thousands of supporters march to the ground holding a variety of banners and flags calling for change at the club.

Some of the flags said Sullivan and Brady, who have been at West Ham since 2010, should "just resign" and "were killing the club", while another read "sold us a dream, we are living the nightmare".

Fan group Hammers United organised the larger of the protests and said this was "the start of a sustained campaign and a series of protests which must be vigorous, but within the law".

They added: "If we are going to get our club back our fanbase is going to have to fight. With Brady and Sullivan at the helm our club is going to die. It is in serious decline and dying a slow death.

"With thousands of long-term, time-served fans walking away, another relegation fight beckoning and another early cup exit, we cannot allow this to happen on our watch.

"We must show the world that Brady and Sullivan's position is untenable and they must step aside for the good of the club.

"They must have no more involvement in the running of West Ham United, which must be handed over to professionals with the expertise and drive to move the club forward."

Former Birmingham City owners David Gold and Sullivan took control of West Ham United 15 years ago in a deal that valued the club at £105m, with Brady joining as vice-chair.

The protests come two weeks after West Ham's fan advisory board, who represent more than 25,000 supporters, issued a vote of no confidence in the club's board.

It cited the club's failure to adequately build on their Conference League victory in 2023 - the Hammers' first major trophy in 43 years - a failure to strengthen the club in the transfer window and the matchday experience at the London Stadium among the reasons for the no-confidence vote.

Hammers United said they planned to line the route along Marshgate Lane up to the directors' entrance to the London Stadium, with the protest to last until 45 minutes before kick-off.

A second protest, organised by fellow fans group Crossed Hammers, said they expected several hundred fans to march from Stratford train station to the ground via the Carpenters' Arms pub. The protest was also due to end at the directors' entrance.

A further protest in the form of a fans boycott is planned for their next home match, against Brentford on Monday, 20 October, with the aim to show banks of empty seats for the match that will be televised live on Sky Sports.

West Ham are in their 14th successive season in the Premier League, but their only points in 2025-26 have come from a fine 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest.

They have also suffered heavy defeats by Sunderland, Chelsea and Tottenham and went out of the Carabao Cup to Wolves, a side that have lost all their Premier League matches.

On the protests, West Ham head coach Graham Potter said in his pre-match news conference that while he respects supporters' right to protest, everyone at the club was "hurting" at the club's struggles.

Potter, who has only won six of 22 league games since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January, said: "We have to just focus on the game. It's as simple as that. That's what we're here for. That's our job.

"We completely respect the supporters' right to protest or to speak because clearly, the most important people are the fans. That's what the football club's here for.

"But everyone connected with West Ham, everyone's the same, everyone loves the club. Everybody wants the club to succeed and everyone's hurting."

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