West Ham bans season-ticket holder over oversized anti-board banner

West Ham have banned a season-ticket holder, Joshua Wood, after he held up an oversized banner calling for the club’s owners to sell at last Saturday’s home game against Sunderland. The 27-year-old has been banned for the next five matches — two at home and three away. A club letter accused Wood of breaching ground regulations by taking from under his seat an oversized banner; it made no mention of the message on the banner.

Protests this season have targeted David Sullivan and Karren Brady, and the banner displayed during the first half read "Time 2 Sell – Name Your Price". The letter cited rules on items allowed inside the ground, including a ban on "any flags or banners larger than those maximum dimensions permitted by the Club from time to time (or, in the absence of such stipulations, 2 metres x 1 metre) and/or of an offensive nature".

Wood told the Guardian he had no part in smuggling the banner into the stadium, saying he was asked while getting a beer in the concourse to hold it up after a roll of paper was found under his seat. He said he did not look at what was written, estimated eight people lifted the banner, and said: "I’m fed up so I was happy to voice my opinion." He plans to appeal.

West Ham said it was unable to comment on a live investigation but is understood to dispute that the ban was intended to stamp out dissent, saying the club has made no attempt to thwart peaceful and lawful protest this season.

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