David Sullivan plans to defy advice to stay away from West Ham’s first home game of the season because the club’s co-owner, accused of multiple counts of sexual misconduct, feels he is being ‘bullied’ into missing it, Daily Mail Sport understands.The 77-year-old, the club’s largest shareholder, resigned as co-chair in June ahead of the airing of a BBC Panorama and Times investigation in which seven women accused Sullivan of predatory behaviour, which he strongly denies.The operators of the London Stadium recommended to West Ham that Sullivan not attend the match against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup on Saturday over fears of potential fan unrest while the club’s fan advisory board said his presence would cause ‘offence and upset’.That feeling is shared by insiders who believed the 77-year-old’s resignation would signal a fresh start for the club, with many staggered that Sullivan plans to be there. One staff member told Daily Mail Sport they had planned to attend the Portsmouth game but would now stay away due to the ‘circus’ and added that the club ‘cannot be serious about wanting to do well if this is what is planned for the season ahead.’Sullivan is understood not to have made a final decision but sources close to the co-owner told Daily Mail Sport that he’s worried about the state of the team and lack of transfer activity heading into their first season in the Championship in 14 years and feels he needs to watch the game live. They also said Sullivan feels he’s being ‘bullied’ by ‘keyboard warriors’ into staying away.Sullivan was accused in June of preying on a string of women, some in their teens, during his time as a newspaper chief stretching back to the 1980s as seven women came forward to give detailed accounts of predatory behaviour they had experienced, including pressuring them for sex or oral sex by suggesting it would help their careers. Sullivan described the allegations as ‘factually incorrect and entirely false’. David Sullivan believes he is being ‘bullied’ into staying away from West Ham amid allegations of sexual misconductSources close to Sullivan also claimed he’s received numerous messages from fans urging him to attend despite his presence at matches last season sparking continued protests from spectators against his ownership, including marches, boycotts, sit-ins, black balloons and thousands of fans brandishing red cards.The Panorama investigation revealed that Sullivan had been banned from contact with West Ham women’s and youth teams for the past three years.London Stadium’s operator has asked to be made aware of any planned Sullivan visits so it can implement its own safety measures. West Ham are said to have told the operator that it does not consider there to be an ongoing safeguarding risk associated with Sullivan attending the stadium.Until recently, it appeared as though Sullivan’s grip on West Ham was loosening when it was announced in June that Vanessa Gold, daughter of former co-owner David, had agreed to sell part of their stake in the club to fellow shareholder Daniel Kretinsky. The move that would have seen the Czech billionaire overtake Sullivan as leading shareholder.Last week, however, a new announcement confirmed that Gold had accepted a new offer from a consortium led by former Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley for her shares. Staveley agreed to buy a 25.1 per cent stake for £150million, which values the club at around £600million, and would still leave Sullivan as the leading stakeholder.Staveley, though, has reportedly also made an offer to Sullivan, who is believed to be open to selling his stake in the club but values it at much more.