The post-match operation was observed at close quarters by Newcastle stewards and senior staff.
The club said supporters “waited patiently and without incident during the hold back period”.
Among those supporters affected was season ticket holder Liam Phillips, 42, who vowed never to return to Marseille and “probably never go back to France to watch a game” after what he witnessed.
Though Phillips was keen to stress the locals were “very friendly”, he said the police “whacked people indiscriminately” after the game when the supporters at the front were being “pushed into the police through no fault of their own”.
“To be cooped up from 4pm – and I didn’t get back to my hotel until nearly 2am – that’s almost 10 hours to watch 90 minutes of football,” he said.
“It just felt inhumane and felt to me like we were being treated like criminals when actually the vast majority if not everybody were just there to watch their team.
“There was no aggro. It was all good-natured. We just wanted to watch a game of football. There was no need for it.”
Another fan, Darren Curry, the co-founder of the Newcastle Supporters Club, said supporters were left standing in urine on the concourses after toilets overflowed while they waited.
Though he highlighted how the police pulled his partner out, he said safety was “very poor”.
“People don’t like getting kettled in and it was a dangerous area,” he said.
“I saw a lot of women and men in stress. They were getting pulled out. If you’re at the front and there’s a surge forward, I’m pretty sure the police now will baton charge you.
“It was very lucky that no one got seriously hurt.”
Marseille police say they made “very limited use of tear gas” following a crowd surge but denied any other use of force.
“At one point, towards the end of the operation, in the visitors’ section, a crowd surge required the intervention of the CRS riot police, one of whom made very limited use of tear gas, which caused discomfort to around 20 fans for a few minutes,” the police said.
“Apart from this incident, no force was used and the operation went smoothly. No injuries or complaints were reported following this event.”
Marseille football club said that, according to Uefa’s debriefing, the system and the planned timing were “strictly adhered to” and that the system for “welcoming” the travelling support had been “defined before the match” in consultation with the police, Uefa and Newcastle.
The French club said access to the concourse remained open so supporters could “use the toilets or go to the refreshment stands” during this waiting period.
Marseille added the overflowing toilets were caused by an “act of vandalism”, namely a “deliberately blocked toilet and a damaged flush mechanism”.
The Football Supporters’ Association said Marseille and the local authorities have to “drastically improve the ‘welcome’ afforded to away supporters”.
“Credit to Newcastle United for standing against the shocking treatment their supporters received in Marseille,” a spokesman said.
Uefa have also been approached for comment.
