Howe 'disappointed' after fans' Marseille experience

Eddie Howe says he was "desperately disappointed" after Newcastle United fans were subject to "unnecessary" force from the police after his side's Champions League game in Marseille.

Newcastle are to launch a complaint with Uefa, Marseille and French police after what the club called "unnecessary and disproportionate force" from officers following the visitors' 2-1 defeat at Stade Velodrome.

Eyewitness Liam Phillips said Newcastle supporters were "treated like criminals" while fellow fan Darren Curry, who was also present in Marseille, added it was "very lucky that no-one got seriously hurt".

Club chief executive David Hopkinson spoke directly with Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis on Thursday about the matter.

And Howe made it clear that Newcastle did not want to see "any set of supporters anywhere in the world being disrespected".

"The one thing you want for your supporters is to go to the game, feel safe, enjoy the football match and travel home safely," the head coach said.

"We really appreciate the support from all the away supporters. To come the distance they did, I'm sure the travel won't have been easy regardless of when you do it.

"It's an extreme effort, extreme loyalty, and one thing we feel we should deliver for them is safety, so [I'm] desperately disappointed about that."

Marseille police acknowledged they made "very limited use of tear gas" following a crowd surge, as Newcastle fans waited to be let out after the game, but they denied any other use of force.

The French club stressed that the feedback sent to them by Uefa after the game "confirms the quality of the security measures implemented and their effective operational execution".

"The club cannot accept that its responsibility be wrongly called into question," a spokesman said.

"Finally, the club wishes to commend the rigorous and co-ordinated work of the police prefecture, whose actions ensured the smooth running of the event and the safety of all supporters."