SPORTS
What a Result . . . Watford's Al Bangura is Saved in Extra Time"No More Deportation Order"
By Richard Ford, Home Correspondent
Jan 15, 2008, 02:58

A Championship footballer facing deportation back to Sierra Leone is to be allowed to stay in the country, the Home Office announced last night.

Al Bangura, 19, who became a father last month, had made a tearful appearance before fans at Watford’s Vicarage Road ground after his appeal for asylum was rejected.

Supporters of Watford and Claire Ward, the Labour MP for the town, had conducted a campaign to persuade the authorities to let him stay.

The campaign had won the backing of Sir Elton John, the former chairman of Watford, and David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary.

Last night Graham Simpson, the Watford chairman, said: “As a club we are very happy with the news, but mostly we are delighted for Al and his family.”

Ms Ward said she felt that common sense had prevailed. “This is the right decision and proves what we have said all along – that Al has an exceptional case.

“I am delighted that common sense has been reached and thank all those supporters in Watford and beyond who helped keep up the pressure on the authorities.”

Mr Bangura, 19, arrived in Britain seeking asylum almost four years ago, and was granted limited discretionary leave to remain. He says that he lost touch with his family and settled in England after escaping from the human traffickers who brought him to Europe.

The Asylum and Immigration tribunal that heard his appeal to stay was told that Mr Bangura had been trafficked from Sierra Leone at the age of 15 and, upon arriving in Britain, was the victim of a sexual attack, before seeking refuge as an unaccompanied minor.

Under cross-examination at the tribunal, Mr Bangura was asked why he said in media interviews that he had come to Europe to stay with an uncle and that he had called his mother at least once a week.

Mr Bangura told the court: “That was my first interview. It was a really sad moment and embarrassing moment for me, that’s all I can say. I was a bit shy.” Nicholas Jariwalla, cross-examining, accused Mr Bangura of lying about having contact with his family, and said that he had given different accounts of his arrival in England.

The tribunal rejected his appeal to remain in the country. Yesterday, however, he was given a work permit, despite not fitting the Home Office’s usual criteria for footballers.

Work permits are usually granted to players who have played a certain number of matches for national sides ranked in the Top 70 by Fifa, football’s governing body. Sierra Leone is at No 156, and Mr Bangura has yet to be capped for his country.

However, he appealed to a panel, which comprised three former footballers and representatives of the Football Association, Football League and Professional Footballers’ Association, to be allowed to stay. The criteria for their decision to give him a work permit was whether he was a player of the highest calibre and if he would contribute to the development of football in England.

A Home Office spokeman confirmed the approval of Mr Bangura’s work permit. It was granted for the length of his Watford contract, which runs until 2010. The Home Office spokesman added: “The next stage is to apply for leave to remain in the UK.”

The announcement that Mr Bangura would be allowed a work permit came hours after Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, said that the public wanted strong borders and a compassionate immigration system.

He said that while Britain was not antiforeigner, the public wanted stronger borders. “The public want us to prevent illegal immigration by attacking its causes.

“The public wants us to hold newcomers to account when they break the rules, deporting rule breakers where necessary.

“But they also want a compassionate system, which makes and enforces decisions fast and lets those we need make the contribution they can as long as they speak English, pay tax and obey the law.”