After Newcastle United and Marseille fans clashed in the streets this week, the Magpies will lodge a formal complaint to UEFA.
Newcastle United’s game against Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday night ended in defeat on the pitch, with the Magpies throwing away a one-goal lead at half-time to fall to a 2-1 loss.
Newcastle United take action after the treatment of fans in Marseille. Let us hear your experience out in France!
There’s now a fear Newcastle will fail to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase, which would be a very costly development indeed.
They’ll have to pick themselves up and get a result in the next game against Leverkusen. But, the fallout from the Marseille game is still ongoing, as the club looks to address the problems that occurred between the two sets of fans.
Newcastle United will make UEFA complaint
Despite safety warnings issued to Newcastle fans ahead of the game against Marseille, the travelling supporters were still met with violence and tension on the streets of the French city.
While some fans got along well during the day, tear gas and objects were thrown at Newcastle supporters during the night while balaclava-clad Marseille fans attacked some sections of the away fanbase.
Now, the club has responded to the issue and says it will complain to UEFA about what happened. A statement reads: “We will be formally raising our concerns with UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and French police in relation to the unacceptable treatment of our supporters by police at Stade Vélodrome following Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture.”
The club is particularly unhappy with the way Newcastle fans were transported around Marseille after the final whistle and the lack of protection in place.
It wasn’t just fans that were to blame, though, as the statement adds: “The police began using unnecessary and disproportionate force to stop the remainder of our fans from moving any further. This was actioned through a combination of pepper spray, batons and shields, with numerous supporters being indiscriminately assaulted by the police.”
Fans have plenty to say about Marseille experience
Taking to Twitter/X to react to Newcastle United’s latest action on the matter, it seems fans are happy the club is taking steps to help protect them, even if it is retroactive.
One simply said “Well done for looking out for us fans,” while another added, “Fantastic news – we stand with you completely.”
Others went into more detail. One supporter wrote: “Football fans are considered ‘fair game’ and it’s disgusting. Enough is enough from foreign police who stereotype us as trouble makers. I’ve attended many games abroad with England and club and consider it not worth it anymore.”
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Another replied: “Thank you. If that is the way they treat away fans (or any crowd at all), they simply should not be allowed to host European competition… I was seriously concerned for our safety.”
Finally, one supporter said this was always going to happen, adding: “This was inevitable as soon as the draw was made. Same thing will happen at PSG. The treatment of English fans in France has been abhorrent for years and UEFA needs to start penalising the clubs involved, whether it’s their fault or the police.”
We now wait to see what impact this complaint will have, if any. Hopefully the matter will be treated seriously and further protections put in place for away fans at these kinds of games in future.
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