Newcastle have confirmed they have raised concerns with UEFA, Marseille and French police over the “unacceptable treatment” of club supporters by French police at the Stade Velodrome. Multiple complaints were lodged about the treatment of fans after the 2-1 defeat in the Champions League, with footage circulating on social media.
Newcastle believed “unnecessary and unwarranted force” had been used against supporters and said fans appeared “visibly distressed” as it became clear they were in danger of being “crushed”. In a strongly worded statement, Newcastle confirmed they had raised their concerns with all three parties and urged supporters affected by the incident to get in touch.
“We will formally express our concerns to UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and the French police regarding the unacceptable treatment of supporters by the police at the Stade Velodrome following Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League match,” the statement read.
“Following the final whistle, supporters were required to remain in the stadium for up to an hour in order to ensure their safety when exiting the stadium, in accordance with instructions from local authorities.
“The plan was to move 500 supporters at a time and then have police escort them to the subway station to proceed to Joliet Square.
“Despite the disappointing result, our supporters remained in good spirits and were patient during the hold-back period without incident. Post-match operations were closely observed by stewards and senior staff.
“Once the first group of supporters were released, police began using unnecessary and unreasonable force to prevent the remaining fans from moving further. This was done using a combination of pepper spray, batons and shields, and large numbers of supporters were indiscriminately assaulted by police.”
“Many supporters were visibly in distress and the crushing was particularly evident in the upper concourse area of the away sector.
“Our staff immediately contacted police, but their excessive tactics had limited repercussions.
“Fans who left the stadium understandably shared their pain, frustration and anger with our staff and we subsequently received very worrying sighting reports from supporters who were at the venue.
“The safety and welfare of our supporters should always be paramount and we strongly condemn the treatment of our supporters by the police in this incident.
“We will be calling on UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and the local authorities to formally investigate this matter, learn lessons and ensure that this behavior is not repeated.
“We continue to work with the UK Football Police Unit (UKFPU) to collect evidence on behalf of our supporters.
“We would like to hear from supporters affected by this incident as we gather as much support information as possible. This information will also be shared with UEFA, the UKFPU and the Football Supporters Europe organization.”
“Supporters who would like to share their sightings should email supporter.services@nufc.co.uk.”
