Hundreds of Borussia Dortmund fans offered visiting Monaco supporters a bed for the night after the Dortmund team bus was hit by explosions before a scheduled match between the two teams.
Within minutes of confirmation that the Champions League quarter-final first leg had been postponed until Wednesday evening, the hashtag #BedsForAwayFans was being used on Twitter to connect stranded Monaco fans with places to stay in the city.
Stéphanie Lentz, a nurse from Saverne, in the north-east of France, who had travelled to the match with her brother and a friend, said they received several offers and met up with Dortmund fan Michael Seine.
“Our host was very sympathetic. He was homely and gave us a warm welcome. For him it was natural thing to do. We watched the news together on television and tonight after the game we will meet for a drink,” Lentz said.
“Some people think football fans are crazy or violent. But the true values of football is what the Dortmund fans made with their hospitality yesterday.”
Asked whether they would remain friends, Lentz said they had added each other on social media.
Matthieu Cagnot, 23, from Bretagne-Pays de la Loire, in north-west France, travelled 15 hours to Dortmund with four friends. After the postponement, they eventually found somewhere to stay at 2am with Dortmund fan Thomas Thiel.
“It is so cool to meet people like Thomas. He was so cool with us. Without him my friends and I would have slept on the street because hotels are very expensive,” he said.
“The Dortmund fans were amazing. The events touched everyone. After that we aren’t rivals but friends. It’s a dream to be in stadium of Dortmund and take part in a big match so we would have stayed in Dortmund for sure.”
Barbara Welding, a Dortmund fan who lives close to the stadium, hosted two Monaco fans from Maubeuge in northern France, after offering her home on Twitter.
“It was their very first time in the stadium. We had a drink together and talked about the day. We watched the press conference on television. I translated the most important information. This morning we had breakfast together and I gave some recommendations for their day.
“It was easy to offer our home. Moreover, I asked myself what I would appreciate in such a situation,” Welding said.
Hotel owner and Dortmund supporter Ute Uhlenkltt offered rooms free of charge after hearing that the match had been postponed.
“It was the only thing I could do,” she said. “I wanted to show solidarity and as a Dortmund fan, if something happened to my family or children, I would hope someone would do the same for us.”
