A trip to Sheffield on a cold Saturday in December might not be everyone’s idea of a fun day out, but Al Bangura, the Watford midfield player, will be happy to be heading for Hillsborough this weekend rather than back to Sierra Leone after learning that his deportation has been delayed after a successful appeal to the Home Office.
Bangura, 19, had been granted asylum after arriving in Britain from the West African nation at 15, but faced deportation after the Home Office claimed that his status altered once he turned 18. Now, a delegation including Graham Simpson, the Watford chairman, and Claire Ward, the Labour MP whose constituency includes Vicarage Road, have persuaded Liam Byrne, the Home Office Minister, to order an independent panel