England football fan Garry Mann has received a boost in his bid to avoid extradition to Portugal after a High Court injunction was imposed.
The former Kent firefighter, 52, was convicted over a riot during the Euro 2004 tournament.
Earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights rejected a legal challenge to his extradition to serve a two-year jail term, but Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said a temporary injunction blocking the move was imposed by the High Court Thursday afternoon.
"We are delighted to say that the High Court has granted an injunction to stop Garry Mann being extradited until May 7," Mr Russell said.
"They've set a time for a hearing of Garry's case at the High Court at 10.30am on May 7."
Lawyers representing Mann, from Faversham, Kent, said their application would be based on evidence from the Foreign Office not previously heard in court.
The hearing on May 7 will consider whether the injunction should be extended.
Mann, a Birmingham City supporter, says he was drinking with friends in a bar in Albufeira when a riot involving football fans began in a nearby street after which he was arrested, tried and convicted within 48 hours.
He said he was only granted five minutes with a lawyer before trial, which a British police officer described as a "farce", could not understand the proceedings and did not know what charge he faced until after he was convicted.
Three days after being sentenced, he agreed to be deported on the understanding that his jail term would be waived if he left voluntarily, but in October 2008, British police arrested Mann, acting on a European arrest warrant issued by their Portuguese counterparts.
