Newcastle say fans ‘indiscriminately assaulted’ by police in Marseille

Following their defeat at Marseille at the Stade Velodrome, Newcastle United are to lodge a complaint about the “unacceptable treatment” of their supporters by French police.

Following Tuesday’s Champions League game, officers used “unnecessary and disproportionate force” on the club, Marseille, and French police, and the club will formally raise their concerns.

According to Newcastle, officers used pepper spray, batons, and shields, and numerous supporters were “indiscriminately assaulted by the police.”

The organization continued, “We firmly condemn the treatment of our supporters.”

For their own safety, traveling Magpies fans were scheduled to be held back inside the stadium after the final whistle for up to an hour.

The Place de la Joliette, the obligated meeting point for fans put in place by the local authorities and the police in Marseille, would then be taken by them in groups of 500 to the metro.

However, Newcastle claimed that the police began using “disproportionate force” to prevent the rest of our supporters from moving any further once the first group of supporters was freed from the ground following the 2-1 defeat.

The club claimed that “many supporters were clearly distressed,” particularly in the upper concourse area of the away section, where crushing became apparent.

Our staff immediately spoke with the police about the incident, but it had little impact on how aggressive they were.

Fans who were present at the stadium rightly reported their anger, frustration, and distress to our staff, and we have since received deeply troubling witness reports.

Newcastle stewards and senior staff members closely monitored the post-match operation.

During the “hold back period,” the club stated that supporters “waited patiently and without incident.”

Liam Phillips, 42, a fan of the season, pledged never to travel back to Marseille and “probably never go back to France to watch a game” in response to what he witnessed.

After the game, Phillips claimed the police “whacked people indiscriminately” because the front-line supporters were being “pushed into the police through no fault of their own” despite Phillips’ desire to emphasize that the locals were “very friendly”.

He claimed that watching 90 minutes of football while cooped up from 4 p.m. and that I didn’t return to my hotel until nearly 2 a.m.

When the majority of people, if not everyone, were just there to watch their team, it just felt inhumane and like we were being treated like criminals, as I once felt.

There was no aggro, they said. It was all pleasant in nature. We only wanted to watch a football game. It was unnecessary, really.

After toilets overflowed while supporters were waiting, according to another fan, Darren Curry, the co-founder of the Newcastle Supporters Club.

He cited the police’s “very poor” safety, despite the fact that he cited the incident.

He claimed that “people don’t like getting kettled in, and this area was dangerous.”

I witnessed a lot of stress in both women and men. They were leaving in a hurry. I’m pretty sure the police will baton charge you right away if you’re in the front and there’s a surge forward.

“No one who suffered serious injuries was very fortunate.”

Marseille claimed that the system and the scheduled time had been “strictly adhered to” and that the system for “welcoming” the traveling support had been “definited before the match” in consultation with the police, Uefa, and Newcastle.

During this time frame, supporters were permitted to use the restrooms or use the concession stands, according to the French club.

Marseille claimed that a “deliberately blocked toilet and a damaged flush mechanism” were the source of the overflowing toilets.