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Newcastle Files Complaints Over Policing in Marseille as French Police Seek Fan Seen in Explicit Video

Parallel investigations now focus on alleged excessive force against visiting supporters alongside possible criminal conduct by an individual spectator.

Overview

  • Newcastle alleges French officers used unnecessary and disproportionate force on away fans after the 2-1 defeat at the Stade Vélodrome, including pepper spray, batons and shields.
  • According to the club, visiting supporters were kept inside the stadium for up to an hour and then released in groups of about 500 before the reported confrontations.
  • Formal complaints have been submitted to UEFA, Olympique de Marseille and French police, and the club says it is working with British police to collect evidence.
  • French authorities are seeking a man reported to have worn a Newcastle shirt who appears in a sexually explicit bathroom video, with an anonymous police source saying he may also have been involved in later clashes.
  • Reporting notes that public sex in France can be prosecuted as indecency or exhibitionism, carrying penalties of up to one year in prison and a fine of around €15,000.