An FC United coach has been temporarily allowed to stay in the country – after a deportation hearing was dramatically halted.
Asylum seeker Mehdi Mirzae, a volunteer community coach at the club, faces being sent back to his native Afghanistan after officials said he was in the country illegally – but his supporters fear he will be murdered if he returns.
Hundreds of football fans have backed a campaign to keep him in Manchester – and are trying to raise £8,000 to continue the fight.
The Home Office had issued orders for Mehdi to be removed tomorrow, but the plans have been put on hold after a hearing at the Civil Justice Centre in Spinningfields was postponed.
It is understood the case was adjourned to allow lawyers time to consider new medical evidence put forward by his supporters.
Mehdi, 26, fled Afghanistan in 2003 after his family was killed due to his father's involvement in an anti-government group. He was captured but his uncle helped him escape to Britain and he settled in Harpurhey.
Jenny Loudon, co-ordinator of the Mehdi Must Stay campaign, said they were 'pleased' he was safe for now.
She said: “We have managed to get additional medical reports and information about Mehdi's situation and these have been sent to the Home Office. We are heartened that the judge said that until the Home Office responded he would not hear the case. A hearing is now likely to take place at the end of the month.
“Mehdi is such an important figure in the Manchester community. He has been in detention for nearly three months and we are concerned that it is having a detrimental effect on his mental health.”
Mehdi is the driving force behind Manchester-based refugee team Omid FC. Last month, friends and FC United fans staged a five-a-side football match outside Gigg Lane, Bury, to raise awareness of his plight.
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