Newcastle to lodge Uefa complaint over 'unacceptable treatment' of fans at Marseille game

Newcastle United is set to lodge a formal complaint with UEFA, Olympique de Marseille, and French police over what they describe as "unacceptable treatment" of their fans at Tuesday's Champions League match against Marseille.

The Premier League club claims that French police used pepper spray, batons, and shields to subdue supporters after the 2-1 defeat at Stade Vélodrome, leaving many feeling distressed and frustrated.

According to Newcastle, fans were initially kept inside the stadium for an hour as a safety precaution before being escorted to a designated meeting point. However, things quickly escalated with police using excessive force to try and stop remaining supporters from moving.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing supporters being indiscriminately assaulted by police, while others described scenes of crushing in the upper concourse area of the away sector. Newcastle's staff immediately intervened with the police, but this failed to improve the situation.

Marseille police maintain that they maintained a friendly attitude towards Newcastle fans, but a crowd surge prompted riot police to intervene. They claim no force was used apart from tear gas on around 20 fans for "a few minutes", and no injuries or complaints were reported after the incident.

However, Newcastle says they will not stand idly by and have vowed to investigate what happened, seeking lessons that can be learned and ensuring such behavior is never repeated.

OMG, this is getting serious . I feel so bad for those poor Newcastle fans who got treated like animals . Using pepper spray, batons, and shields on them? That's just ridiculous . I don't know what happened with the crowd surge, but it doesn't excuse using excessive force on innocent people .

And 20 fans getting tear gassed for a few minutes? That's not even a big deal . No injuries or complaints? Okay, maybe Marseille is telling the truth this time... but I wouldn't put it past UEFA to just ignore all this and let it slide .

Newcastle's staff intervened with the police, but that didn't work? That's so sad . The fans were already feeling distressed and frustrated after that 2-1 defeat . Can you imagine being in their shoes?

I hope Newcastle gets some serious answers about what happened and that UEFA takes this seriously ️. No one deserves to be treated like this, especially not football fans .

So like this match was on Tuesday and Newcastle's all salty about it lol . They're saying the French police were super aggressive with their fans using pepper spray, batons, and shields... but Marseille's all "nah we treated them nice" . I found a vid of the match and it looks pretty crazy though - people getting slammed to the ground by cops . But what's wild is that 20 fans got tear gassed for like 5 minutes . I don't know who's right or wrong here, but 2-1 loss stings .

stats alert! Did you know that in the last year alone, there were 245 fan-related incidents in European football? ️ That's a lot of stress for fans like those at this match . And btw, did you see the attendance numbers? Newcastle had over 10k fans and Marseille only had 35k? Maybe that played a role in things escalating? Not saying it was the cause or anything...

OMG, u gotta see dis! What's goin on with Marseille? The way they treated Newcastle fans after that match is just crazy! I mean, pepper spray and batons? That's not how you handle a situation! They should've had more respect for those fans... I feel so bad 4 them! And the fact that some fans got injured or assaulted is just unacceptable. Marseille police say they used tear gas on 20 fans, but come on, dat's still no excuse! The fact that Newcastle staff tried to intervene and nothing changed just makes it even worse. UEFA needs 2 step in here ASAP! This kinda thing can't happen again!

this is so unacceptable what's going on in France?? i mean i know games can get heated but pepper spray batons shields?? it's crazy how could the police not see that their actions were escalating things? those fans were just trying to leave and get outta there and they're getting assaulted by the cops. Marseille says no injuries or complaints but come on we don't need proof of injuries for something like this to be unacceptable, right? it's all about how the police handled that crowd surge. did they really think using tear gas was gonna defuse the situation? i'm all for safety precautions but not at the expense of people's human rights

Ugh, this is getting out of hand! I mean, I get it, fans can get rowdy but using pepper spray and shields? That's just ridiculous. And crushing people in the upper concourse area? Disgusting. I'm all for a good rivalry match, but not at the expense of safety. Can't we just keep things civil? The fact that Marseille claims no force was used apart from tear gas and no injuries were reported is pretty suspicious to me. It sounds like they're trying to cover something up. I'm so frustrated for the Newcastle fans, they had a tough night and deserved better. UEFA needs to get involved and make sure this doesn't happen again.

OMG this is so sad I feel bad for those Newcastle fans... I mean i get why Marseille wants control in the stadium but pepper spray and batons?! That's just crazy . Didnt even hear about this match tho lol its days late for me , sorry not sorry (just kidding sorta)

I'm totally with Newcastle on this one their fans were just trying to celebrate a loss and get out of the stadium but got beaten up by the cops it's like they just wanted to contain them but ended up using way too much force and what really gets me is that Marseille claims no one was injured or complained but I'm sure many of those fans will have some serious PTSD issues now

OMG THIS IS SO UNFAIR!!! I MEAN WHO GETS PEPPER SPRAYED AND BATONED JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE FANS?!?! IT'S LIKE THEY EXPECTED OUR FANS TO BE ALL ANGRY AND RIOTOUS OR SOMETHING!!!!!!
I FEEL BAD FOR THE NEWCASTLE FANS, THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG, THEY JUST WANTED TO CELEBRATE A GAME!!! IT'S LIKE THE POLICE ACTUALLY EXPECTED THEM TO LOSE CONTROL COMPLETELY!!!!
I HOPE UEFA TAKES THIS SERIOUSLY AND INVESTIGATES WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS KIND OF THING HAPPEN AGAIN ANYWHERE, ESPECIALLY NOT AT FOOTBALL MATCHES WHERE PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CELEBRATING TOGETHER!!!!!!

This whole thing is a perfect example of how emotions can get out of hand when we're under stress. I mean think about it, you've got your team losing a match, the crowd gets aggro, and suddenly people are swinging batons at police? It's just crazy. The problem here is that both sides have to take responsibility for what happened - the fans need to be more aware of their surroundings and not get caught up in the heat of the moment, while the police also have to learn how to handle a situation like this without escalating it further. It's all about finding that balance and communicating effectively. Can we really say we've learned anything from this? Shouldn't be an easy fix

I'm really surprised by this whole situation. I think the French police need some serious training on how to handle crowd situations like this. Pepper spray and batons seem way too extreme for a normal fan reaction. It's just not right, especially after a match that was already going down in history

I feel so bad for those Newcastle fans who got hurt or traumatized by the police actions. The fact that they were kept inside for an hour first and then treated like animals afterwards is just unacceptable

Can't we all just get along? ️ It's a match, it's supposed to be fun! Not some violent, stressful experience where people get hurt. Let's hope Newcastle's investigation can bring about some positive change and make sure this never happens again

I think UEFA needs to get its act together on stadium security. I mean, a crowd surge happens, but excessive force? That's just asking for trouble. Both teams are saying the same thing - fans were handled poorly, and it's only gonna make things worse for football as a whole.

French police claimed they used shields, batons, and pepper spray... yet Marseille says no injuries or complaints were reported after tear gas? That's some pretty dodgy messaging if you ask me.

Newcastle fans feel really mistreated here, and I get why they're taking this all the way to UEFA - they've got a right to be upset. But I also think Newcastle needs to be honest with themselves about what went down in that stadium. Was it just a case of fan trouble escalating into chaos? Or was there something more systemic at play?