Ex-Oranje footballer, Congo refugee allowed to stay in Netherlands

Congolese refugee Christian Gandu will not be deported after all. The Immigration and Naturalization Service revoked their decision and granted him a residency permit, his club Magreb'90 announced on Thursday. "Christian's case was again reviewed and this time personal circumstances were part of the decision", the Utrecht club writes on its website. "We as a club are very pleased that Christian is allowed to remain in the Netherlands and want to thank everyone who worked to bring the matter as much as possible attention." Gandu fled Congo to the Netherlands when he was 9 years old. . Since then he’s built an eventful football career. In 2006 and 2007 he played four games for the Dutch National team under 15’s. He also played for FC Utrecht, FC Groningen and Almere City.