Mark Bradley: Our football clubs should play fair with fans and families

West Ham United were fined 105,000 for failing to prevent the violent scenes at their game against Millwall earlier in the season and anyone in the vicinity of Southampton's St Mary's Stadium on February 13 would have been astonished (and maybe unsurprised) at the level of hate, bile and antagonism between fans of the home club and those of their near neighbours and mortal enemies Portsmouth.

The stadium grass is certainly not getting any greener right now, so perhaps it was no surprise to hear Sports Minister and Bradford MP Gerry Sutcliffe talk, once again, about regulation. This was the threat that the Football Task Force wielded with some effect in the '90s. This body ushered in the Football Charter, whose principles – designed to create a more transparent, accountable, fan-focused game – are now officially in the rulebook.

Following the Charter out of the dressing room on to the pitch was the Independent Football Commission, which led to the Football Ombudsman arrangement we now have, whereby fans have a clear process by which to pursue their complaints.

So is the Sports Minister threatening a new body, capable of applying sanction for the national game? No. Mr Sutcliffe isn't asking for "tougher regulation" of the football authorities but from them. And in my view, they can take a positive first step by listening to fans more carefully.

Interest in the game is at record levels and increasing numbers of families are returning to the game. Only recently – and for the first time since its inauguration in 2007 – all three of our West Yorkshire clubs picked up a Football League Family Excellence Award in recognition of their commitment to their "fans of the future".

The game has taken some steps forward, but further progress is being stifled by an intransigent culture that has grown up around the game over the decades – a tendency to treat fans as "suspects" first and customers later.

Take this example: a young family go to get some refreshments before the game. Their six-year-old asks for a fizzy drink and the server removes the bottle top before handing it over, thus making the drink more likely to spill and more difficult to carry. While this may be a requirement of their safety certificate, its application in dedicated family areas is counter-productive, especially in those situations where stewards fail to challenge incidents of spiteful or hateful abuse.

Professor Phil Scraton, a member of the committee overseeing the release of the Hillsborough evidence, traces football's idiosyncratic culture to decades of leadership by self-serving owners whose indifference magnified ambivalence towards fans. The hooliganism of the '70s and '80s only added to the negative profile of football fans, while giving politicians a convenient scapegoat when capital needed to be made.

Soon fences and pens would be seen as no more than appropriate for fans who would be prison-marched to grounds (and still are in some circumstances). This deep-rooted indifference to and mistrust of fans explains the persistent remnants of an "anti-customer" culture at some clubs and the curious cameos that are still played out at some matches.

The result of this culture is a large number of disenfranchised fans, so when Gerry Sutcliffe raises the theme of regulation, he should be making it clear that he wants clubs to open the channels of communication, bring fans in from the cold and commit to proper

customer engagement. In short, clubs should use consultation to break down this damaging culture.

But in trying to do the right thing, many sides mistake an unrepresentative minority of supporters for "voice of the customer" and hold infrequent "fan panels" where he who shouts loudest commands the agenda. This, in turn, continues to create the impression that all fans are alike and fails to acknowledge the diverse needs and perceptions of the current and potential football audience.

The resultant lack of clarity and direction only serves to widen the gap between what the fan truly believes their club stands for and the actual reality of this one-sided relationship.

Supporters Trusts – where fans organise themselves to take "ownership" of their club – continue to represent the ultimate in fan engagement, but the opportunities presented by social networking, online customer communities and fan representation on club boards allow the game a more immediate chance to change football's curious culture, to embark on a new collaborative relationship with supporters and, ultimately, to strengthen our 2018 World Cup bid.

Mark Bradley is a consumer expert from Bradford who now works with the Premier League, the Football League, the SPL, the FAI and several clubs.