Richard Keys suggests West Ham United fans won’t like latest story emerging from behind the scenes at London Stadium
Richard Keys suggested fans won’t be happy by reports revealing the West Ham board used club money to donate £9,000 to the Conservative party last year.
The club’s vice-chair Karen Brady is believed to be a Tory peer, and the Guardian on 3 March revealed that it is not the first time the club have given money to the Conservatives, with Electoral Commission records revealing they made a donation of £12,500 in 2016.
This news comes after the club’s co-owner David Sullivan blasted [Sky Sports, 22 February] the government, calling them “incompetent” in an angry response to plans to establish a regulator for English football.
According to the report in the Guardian, the £9,000 donated by West Ham was accepted by the Conservatives on 3 October, less than a month before Liz Truss was forced to resign as prime minister.
Laughable
We all know how controversial the government have been over the last few years, and the idea that West Ham have used their own money to donate funds to a government who haven’t dealt with any of the country’s biggest issues properly will certainly anger many of the club’s fans.
Fans, especially those within the Premier League are desperate to know how their clubs are spending their money, and have no problems with clubs bankrolling stadium rebuild jobs, recruitment, communities and various charities but for donations to the government will certainly bring plenty of unrest.
This situation is made even more strange by the fact that vice-chairman Brady is a Tory peer, and Sullivan over the past few days has strongly criticised the country’s leaders for their incompetence and their need for a “PR win” after the plans to establish independent regulators.
Key leaders of the clubs on differing sides can easily lead to needless fractions and division behind the scenes, and the Hammers fans certainly won’t be pleased especially with the club facing such a critical end to the current campaign and a huge summer of squad reconstruction.