A TALENTED African footballer could be allowed to stay in the country despite being a failed asylum seeker.

A judge released Ballo Ousame on conditional bail while he appealed against the immigration service’s decision.

At an earlier hearing, Ousame pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing a false passport and one of fraud for working illegally for two months between August and October last year.

In Ivory Coast, Ousmane played professionally for Sabe de Bouna in the Ivorian top division.

He fled the country as an 18- year-old when his father and two sisters were killed in the civil war, and arrived in the UK as a refugee.

Ousmane, now 26, admitted to using a false passport to get a job after his asylum application was rejected.

His future remains uncertain as officials in Ivory Coast have said they are not sure that he is one of their nationals.

“It’s a disgrace,” his barrister, Colin Harvey, said. “He is a man in limbo – he is a man without a country. He can begin to try to resolve these issues, but while he is in custody he is merely rotting.”

Judge Peter Bowers empathised with Ousame’s situation.

He said: “My only concern is to ensure that he attends the fresh immigration hearing and does not disappear into the night. I am not saying he will, but I am saying he in an unknown quantity.”

Sentencing was adjourned until the outcome of an immigration hearing and Ousame was released on conditional bail.

He will live at an address in Hartlepool and be electronically tagged while he is on a 10pm to 6am curfew.