Ombudsman?! What ombudsman would that be and why on earth would the club want to go to a third party without trying to resolve it first?
I'm more than happy to answer this because it is a general question about the club's processes rather than a specific one relating to a particular case.
There is a process in place for sanctions procedures. It is not yet the finished article as there are a number of suggestions and possible amendments that have been put forward by SOS, the FSF, the independent football ombudsman and supporters on the club's forum.
The old process was not fit for purpose so the club agreed to work with supporters to make it better and the input from SOS, the FSF etc has been invaluable.
The football ombudsman is a vital part of the process that is in place because he is totally independent and if a supporter feels he/she has been treated unfairly by the club they can take their issue to them. It would be up to the ombudsman to rule whether the club has or hasn't acted fairly and has or hasn't followed its own procedures.
I've cut and pasted the relevant passage from the most recent fans forum on this topic which you can see below.
As for any individual cases, I have no knowledge of them as I have no involvement in them. All I can comment on is the actual procedures that are in place because I am involved in the work that has taken place between the club and supporters that is aimed at making them as fair as possible.
Supporter Charter
A review of the Supporter Charter, which was prompted by a number of incidents in which fans had been ejected from the stadium last season, is being headed by chief operating officer Andy Hughes who presented forum members with an overview of the work that has been done to date.
“We knew we had some issues with the process and as a result we have been working over the summer to make the improvements we feel are necessary to make it fit for purpose,” he said. “This has included consulting with James McKenna from Spirit Shankly whose input has been really helpful and we have also sought guidance from the Independent Football Ombudsman who, again, has provided us with assistance.
“As a result of this we have been able to produce a first draft of what will eventually become the new Supporter Charter but I can also report that we have already enacted a couple of changes simply because it was clearly the right thing to do.
“Firstly, we have moved away from suspensions pending investigations. Now, there is a clear process which involves an investigation being conducted and the outcome of that investigation being put before a panel before any sanctions are triggered.
“The second step would then follow if required, affording the supporter access to an appeals process with an appeal, if desired, being heard by different staff. If the supporter still is not satisfied after those two steps, a third is then made available in the form of an appeal to the Independent Football Ombudsman.
“As I said, these improvements have already been implemented because it made absolute sense to do so rather than persevering with the process which was previously in place but changes can still be made subject to consultation.”
Club senior solicitor Neil Morgan then explained some of the background behind the proposals. “At the heart of what we are doing is a determination to allow people to put their case forward before we start applying any sanctions,” he said.
“I have met with the Independent Football Ombudsman on a couple of occasions and he has asked us to make it clear in the process that supporters also have the right to appeal to him and we are, of course, more than happy to do so.”
Forum member Goronwy Brooks was then given the opportunity to present any concerns held by Spirit Of Shankly (SOS), the supporters’ trust. Referring specifically to sanctions relating to misuse of tickets, he said: “There is a clear need for the club to promote its own ticket transfer system more in order to allow supporters the chance to transfer tickets without risk.
“It would also be fairer if, rather than punishing a supporter who has made a single honest mistake with regards to tickets, the club focused instead on repeat offenders. There needs to be a way of differentiating between the two.”
Andy Hughes responded: “Without going into too much detail because it wouldn’t be right or fair to refer to individual cases, what I can say is that there has been a significant drop in negative feedback since we switched to the new way of working. It does seem to have had a big impact but I certainly take on board the points Goronwy has made.”
Forum member Frank Chart then asked if it was possible for a supporter to appeal both the decision and the sanction with Neil Morgan confirming that would be possible in both cases. He also asked if the club would be willing to add an independent party to the appeals panel. “We have discussed that possibility internally and it is somewhere we would like to get to,” Neil Morgan confirmed.
Forum member Jayne Page said: “I’ve noticed that supporters are given 14 days to appeal and I can’t help thinking that in some cases this won’t be sufficient. If you are on holiday for two weeks it would definitely be a problem, so can the 14 days be extended if necessary?”
Neil Morgan responded: “The correspondence will be in the form of both letter and email so if someone is on holiday they can certainly email us to ask for a delay and we will look to be reasonable in all such cases.”
Jayne Page added: “If the ombudsman asks for a case to be reconsidered, who at the club would do that? Would it not make sense for fresh eyes rather than having the same individuals involved who have already considered the case?” Andy Hughes replied: “I would agree. That is a good suggestion and it would make sense to go down this route.”