Newcastle United has accused French police of using “unnecessary and disproportionate force” against travelling supporters following their 2–1 defeat at Olympique de Marseille in the Champions League.
According to the club, fans were held inside the stadium for about an hour after the final whistle and then instructed to exit in groups of roughly 500. Once the first group left, police reportedly began using pepper spray, batons and shields to prevent the remaining fans from leaving — resulting in “indiscriminate” assaults and scenes of “visible distress” and crowd-crushing in the away section’s upper concourse.
Newcastle has described the incident as a “serious breach of supporter safety and welfare” and said it intends to formally raise the matter with UEFA, Marseille and local French police, while also working with the UK Football Policing Unit to gather evidence from affected fans.
Marseille police acknowledged that riot officers intervened following a reported crowd surge and conceded limited use of tear gas, which they said briefly affected around 20 fans. However, they denied widespread misuse of force, stating that other aspects of the operation proceeded without issue and no formal complaints or serious injuries were recorded.
In their statement, Newcastle insisted that the treatment of their supporters was unjustified and demanded an independent investigation — stressing that supporter safety must always remain a priority.
