David Sullivan steps down at West Ham to fight claims about private life

• Joint-chair and director of relegated club to tackle ‘false allegations’

• ‘I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as’

David Sullivan has announced his resignation as a joint-chair and director of West Ham with immediate effect in a statement.

Sullivan and his legal representatives published his intention to stand down on the club’s website on Saturday “for the benefit of transparency”. It read: “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.