Ticketing issues, bullying and over-zealous stewards: how to complain about a football club
If you're not satisfied about the way you've been treated by your local club and it's not playing ball, have a chat with the Independent Football Ombudsman.
Peeved about how you were treated at your favourite club’s football match? Try getting in touch with the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO).
Established by the Football Association, the Premier League and The Football League in agreement in 2008, the IFO is the successor to the Independent Football Commission (IFC).
The Leeds-based body deals with issues such as ticketing problems, ejections from stadiums and forceful behaviour from stewards.
As it goes, the IFO's dispute handling process is pretty informal, meaning that there’s no need to take legal action which is quicker, easier and cheaper for complainants.
How the process works
There are a couple of steps you should take before getting in touch with the IFO.
Like other ombudsman services, try complaining in writing to the football club in question first. It’s worth asking for a copy of its charter which sets out what the club will do for paying customers as well as where to complain and how your complaint will be handled.
Some clubs even run an appeals process now so the charter keep an eye out for that.
Before you get too antsy, make sure you give the club at least two weeks to respond.
If you're not satisfied with how the club handled your complaint, go to the relevant football authority. So if your complaint is with a Premiership club, contact the Premier League and if it’s with a League club, contact the Football League.
Still unhappy? Then should you forward your complaint to the Independent Football Ombudsman.
Complaints can be sent by post or email and if you have tickets or other documents relating to your complaint to send along, all the better.
The next steps
The ombudsman will investigate the case, gathering information from people involved in both sides of the dispute.
Once a decision has been made it’ll write to you and the football club outlining what action it deems appropriate as well as its reasoning behind its decision.
For example, it might rule that club writes you an apology or recognises that a lesser sanction should have been imposed on you.
In the right circumstances, it may advise the club to refund your ticket, but it has no remit when it comes to lost transport or accommodation costs.
A bit toothless?
You might argue that the ombudsman is a bit feeble as it doesn’t have any enforcement powers and, in some cases, clubs have ignored its recommendations entirely.
Members of the Football Supporters' Federation have spoken out about the ombudsman's previous decisions and where the recommendations have fallen flat.
After a Blackpool vs Huddersfield Town match got abandoned in 2015 due to an invasion by some Blackpool supporters, complaints started flooding in from angry Huddersfield Town fans.
The IFO was only able to step in after two football authority committee reports and recommend that Huddersfield Town supporters get complimentary tickets for the next Blackpool fixture, even though it thought that supporters had a 'sound case' for compensation.
But really, it had no real power to make things right for the Huddersfield Town fans only being able to advise them to go to the small claims court.
It publishes all of its adjudications on its website.
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