Parramatta Stadium was eerily devoid of its usual high octane support as some of the most vocal fans in the country kept their mouths shut for the first 20 minutes of the league leaders’ home match against the Wellington Phoenix.

As the seconds ticked down to the end of the protest, the whole stadium erupted to the chants of “RBB, RBB” – confirming the supporter group is a key factor in the Wanderers’ success story.

It is the latest in a series of fan actions protesting what is seen as a clampdown on active support. Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United diehards recently staged silent protests to highlight their grievances.

Last night Wanderers ran out 2-1 winners, extending their lead to five points at the top of the table in their inaugural season, underlining their claims as the standout football fairy tale of the year.

But RBB spokesman, Matt Adamson, told au.fourfourtwo.com there was a dark side to the story with Football Federation Australia denying natural justice and giving banned supporters no opportunity to appeal, defend, test or confront the evidence against them.

Adamson worked for four years with Showsec International – a leading UK crowd management specialist with clients such as EPL giants Manchester City – and says stringent evidence would be CCTV footage – “somebody in a control room identifying a culprit”.

He said: “I’ve got a background in football and crowd management and from my training over in the UK, evidence to me is tangible evidence - freeze frame, rewind, okay that’s the guy - then point the security operatives in that direction.”

But, he said, it was impossible to assess the FFA’s claims of rigorous identification methods when the process lacked transparency.

“The major concern for us, and the crux of what we’re trying to bring to light and what we hope the ultimate outcome from this protest will be, is a clear and transparent process,” he added.

“For us it really is more about the fact that there’s no right for a fair hearing, no right to present one’s case or review the evidence gathered against oneself or to appeal any decision.

“It’s a very shadowy kind of process at the moment whereby people are happily going to the football then one day they’re walking through the turnstile and stopped by members of security, given a letter and told that they’re banned.”

The RBB is calling for the 20 disputed bans to be revoked, an appeal process established and a system introduced to protect and educate fans about their rights.

The FFA will not disclose the total number of bans issued this season or how that number compares with previous years. However a spokesperson for the governing body said: “FFA has a zero tolerance policy towards anti-social behaviour, including 5-year bans for those caught possessing or igniting flares.

“These troublemakers have no place in our game. We are committed to identifying them and banning them. The vast majority of fans at Hyundai A-League matches are there for all the right reasons to help create a truly unique atmosphere at our matches.”

The RBB says only a small fraction of the disputed bans relate to the alleged use or possession of flares.

“One of the key issues raised when the RBB was originally formed was that we do not condone the use of flares,” Adamson said.

“Anyone caught striking or in possession of a flare is completely on their own as far as we’re concerned. They basically get what they deserve from the FFA. But in a society where we value our freedoms people aren’t being given the right to a fair hearing.”

The FFA maintains the process is fair and that there has been wide consultation with fans and ongoing efforts to educate security and police about football fan culture. Furthermore, any action to ban a person is ratified by senior management before a notice, including all the evidence gathered against the offender, is issued.

Adamson disagrees: “I’ve seen banning notices and I can tell you that’s completely untrue. It’s almost like a tick the box letter – circle which one’s appropriate.

“A line where they fill in the offence – cross off whether they’re two year or five year (bans) – they’re a very generic letter. I’ve seen a couple of them and I’ve never seen any evidence attached whatsoever.”

Long-time football fan Alejandro Vasquez is one of the latest to fall foul of police and security. The 24-year-old who has been to every Wanderers’ home game as well as two away fixtures – and usually attends with his partner and another couple - was evicted from Bluetongue Stadium for allegedly lighting a flare.

At the time of the incident Vasquez says he was helping the RBB musicians by holding the big drum. Later, some 15 to 20 minutes into the match while he was “geeing up” the chanting fans, he was tapped on the shoulder by police.

One of the officers, he said, referred to him waving a spare drum stick “around like an idiot” but that’s not what got him ejected.

“One of the coppers said we have you on camera lighting a flare,” Vasquez said. “That shocked me because the flare was let off a few rows from where I was.

“But I was stood there for about 10 to 15 minutes and the whole time I was up against the wall and I counted nine coppers standing around me in a semi-circle making sure I couldn’t get away.

“The copper kept saying to me we’ve got evidence of you lighting a flare. And I said well show me the evidence. But the copper said we can’t do that right now we just need you out of the stadium.

“Basically the whole band knows it wasn’t me. The big drum I was actually holding stands behind the band so I was behind all of them and the flare actually went off in front (of the band).”

Vasquez said the police took his details – name, address and licence – and then made him leave. He watched the rest of the game in a nearby pub.

“So that was my night,” he said. “I thought to myself, I’ve actually paid money for this. I’ve travelled from Sydney to the Central Coast and these guys are actually stopping me from watching the game.”

The Sydney-sider was allowed to attend Sunday’s match but has been told by RBB stalwarts that’s no guarantee he won’t be slapped with a ban down the track. With his tickets already purchased for the Wanderers remaining three games, he faces a nervy wait.

“For me to get banned would take my weekends away from me,” he said. “I work all week waiting to go to the games.

“I’m getting punished for something I never done and I’m left out of pocket. I think I’m owed an apology from the both the police and the security guards.”

Adamson said Wanderers fans were praised by Gosford police for their orderly march to the recent top of the table clash against the Mariners and for assisting emergency personnel reach, and attend to, a young woman who had a seizure during the march.

Those are the sort of stories you don’t hear about he said.

The notion that fans were only penalised for violent and dangerous behaviour was a far cry from reality, he said, pointing to the last Wanderers’ W-League game of the season when, at the end of the match, members of the crowd ran onto the pitch to acknowledge the international retirement of Matildas great Sarah Walsh.

“That was a case of exuberance - some people jumped on the field, jumped around, never approached any players, never intimidated anyone, never caused any damage to the ground,” he said.

“In my personal opinion, anyone who was banned two years for that – I mean rules are great but there has to be context.

“And yet they have no avenue to say, ‘well look I understand and I appreciate the rule for pitch invasion but surely there was an extenuating circumstance.

“It’s interesting – the crescendo of the AFL ad that came out recently is a scene of tens of thousands of people running onto the field to celebrate. I sort of laughed at the irony at first but then it was quite disheartening.”