Messi fan forced to flee

A young Afghan football fan who shot to fame after he was photographed in a Lionel Messi shirt made from a plastic bag has been forced to flee with his family to the capital, Kabul, after criminal gangs and the Taliban threatened to kill or kidnap him, his mother says. Shafiqa Ahmedi said that since becoming an internet sensation, her now 7-year-old son Murtaza – a fan of the Argentinian star – had not been able to attend school, and the cold and damp in their lodgings in Kabul were making him sick. Murtaza met his hero in Qatar in December last year. His mother said criminals had threatened to kidnap the boy after demanding money, assuming that his brush with fame had somehow resulted in a windfall.