A Liverpool FC fan who got caught in the "horrific" crush outside the Champions League final was hugged by a steward as she sobbed.
Anita Gillen, a LFC season ticket holder for over 20 years, told the ECHO of the terror she experienced outside Stade de France before the game. Anita was caught at the front of the queue when the crush at the turnstiles started and was pulled to safety by a police officer just before the gates closed.
The 55-year-old from Parkgate earlier had her ticket grabbed out her hand and swapped for a fake ticket. This only became apparent once she tried to get through the ticket barriers. Anita, who was on her own at the stadium, said she felt "really vulnerable" before the events began and "absolutely terrified" once the crush began.
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Anita told the ECHO after she was pulled through the barriers she was met by a UEFA steward who hugged her as she sobbed. The image of Anita hugging the steward, an English woman working on behalf of UEFA, was shared on BBC North West during the chaotic events.
Anita now wants to be put in contact with the woman so she can thank her for "saving" her. Anita said: "It was bedlam at the gate. It was just awful - people were shouting and screaming, it was horrific.
"A really nice man put his arm around me and told me 'youll be fine'. He was shouting to the police and the stewards saying 'she's a woman, let her in'. A police officer looked at me and grabbed my arm and pulled me through the gates just as they shut. The lovely man who helped me would have been shut out."
Anita tried her ticket on the barrier but it beeped twice and denied her access. It was at that moment she realised that her real ticket had been swapped for a fake by a man outside the stadium who gave it back after police arrested a local who had earlier swiped it from her hand.
But a police officer told her to crawl under the barrier and go through to the stadium. It was here she met the steward who calmed her down and told her "it'll be alright - go get a drink, go find your seats and I'll come look and check you're okay".
Anita said during the match like a lot of people she wasn't interested in what was happening and "was thankful when the final whistle blew". At the end of the match she managed to meet up with her daughter who had herself been at the LFC fan zone and tear gassed by police.
Anita said although she's been a season ticket holder for 20 years it was her first final away in Europe - but added: "I'll never go again to an abroad game. I can't explain how bad it was - I've asked myself if I was naïve but I don't think I was.
"The whole situation was just particularly overwhelming. But what the steward did was really kind and her care was amazing.
"I can't tell you how emotional I feel about it ever time I think about it. I'll never forget the kindness she showed me."
