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Hundreds of West Ham fans missed Crysencio Summerville’s opener against Sunderland at the London Stadium while taking part in an organised protest against the club’s owners.
Summerville’s bullet header from a Jarrod Bowen cross gave the Hammers the lead to help settle the nerves in the 14th minute.
But the Dutchman’s goal was scored in front of swathes of empty seats at the London Stadium following fan group Hammers United’s ‘No More BS (Brady and Sullivan)’ campaign.
Despite their historic Conference League triumph in 2023, the group are unhappy with David Sullivan and Karren Brady’s ownership of the club.
The pair have been at the helm of West Ham for 15 years with the group urging fans to stay away from their seats for the opening 15 minutes of the clash against Sunderland.
And that absence made them miss Summerville’s opening goal. But there was still plenty of reward for the returning protesters – Bowen added a second goal from the penalty spot on 28 minutes before Mateus Fernandes added a third from distance just before half-time.
A statement from the supporters’ group Hammers United read: ‘For the match against Sunderland, we are asking all fans to delay taking their seats for 15 minutes, then walk in holding up red cards, and continue to show them throughout the game.
’15 minutes for the future of our Club. That’s all we’re asking. We hope you’ll join us.’
A victory against Sunderland would take West Ham up to 20 points after 23 matches in the Premier League, but is not enough to pull them out of the relegation zone. 17th-placed Nottingham Forest would remain two points clear of them.
