Newcastle release statement to Uefa over 'unacceptable treatment' of fans following Marseille clash

A club statement said: "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 Velodrome following Tuesday’s UefaChampions League fixture."

According to Newcastle, travelling fans were kept inside the stadium for an hour as part of a planned safety measure.

Groups of 500 were then escorted to the metro to reach the supporters’ meeting point, the club explained.

However, that is when plans seemed to go wrong, with the post-match operation witnessed at close quarters by Newcastle’s stewards and senior staff.

Newcastle’s statement said: "Once the first group of supporters was released, 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."

They added: "Many supporters were visibly distressed, particularly in the upper concourse area of the away sector, where crushing became apparent.

"Our staff immediately addressed the matter with the police, however this had limited impact on their excessive tactics.

"Fans leaving the stadium rightly shared their distress, frustration and anger with our staff, and we have subsequently received deeply concerning witness reports from supporters who were in attendance.

"Supporter safety and welfare should always be of paramount importance, and we strongly condemn the treatment of our supporters by the police during this incident.”

Newcastle say they will contact the relevant bodies for an investigation into what happened “to ensure lessons are learned and this behaviour is not repeated”.

They have called on supporters to share their experiences.

The Magpies led 1-0 at the Velodrome courtesy of Harvey Barnes’ sixth-minute opener, his third goal in four days after his match-winning double against Manchester City, and were good value for it.

However, they were undone inside five second-half minutes when 36-year-old former Arsenal frontman Aubameyang first capitalised on an error by goalkeeper Nick Pope to level and then stabbed the Ligue 1 side ahead amid a much-improved display to snatch a 2-1 victory.

The Magpies, who have won only one of their eight away games to date this season, face a tough trip to Everton on Saturday and travel to Bayer Leverkusen, who enjoyed an eye-catching 2-0 win at Manchester City, in their next European fixture.

Speaking after the game, manager Eddie Howe said: "We need the intent to go for more goals in games. The intent was there.

"Maybe our press was not as intense as it has been. One-nil is a delicate scoreline and we did not defend well enough.

"The result leaves us bruised, but we have great games ahead."