West Ham fires goalkeeper coach over corruption charge
West Ham have sacked academy goalkeeping coach Jerome John over accusations that he bought equipment with club money with the intention of selling it privately.
Sportsmail understands that the decision to terminate John’s employment was taken following an internal investigation at the end of last year.
The matter surrounds the order of goalkeeping gloves on the club’s budget. West Ham believe he intended to sell the gloves privately. John was suspended pending club enquiries before a decision was made to dismiss the coach.
It is understood West Ham carried out all appropriate and proper processes ahead of the decision to remove John. The coach declined to comment when contacted by Sportsmail. West Ham also declined to comment.
John was part of the Hammers’ famous academy as a player before leaving the east London club as a 19-year-old. The goalkeeper had a distinguished non-league career with Enfield and Kingstonian before rejoining his boyhood club as a coach in 2007.
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He was a popular member of staff behind the scenes, most recently working under head of academy goalkeeping Billy Lepine, but appears to have left under a cloud.
First-team manager David Moyes has introduced changes to the West Ham academy since his return to the club in 2019, but those alterations are not linked to John’s departure.