Afghan men accused of stealing England stars' kit were given US citizenship for fighting the Taliban

Two men accused of stealing boots and kit belonging to England's World Cup squad as they arrived in the United States are Afghans given American citizenship for their help in fighting the Taliban, The Daily Mail can reveal.

Mustafa Salik, 40, and Erfan Kamal, 35, were arrested by police after more than $18,000 (£13,700) worth of equipment was stolen from a van transporting it from England's pre-tournament base in Florida to their current Kansas City training HQ.

The Daily Mail revealed how FA officials called police after they noticed the items were missing and confronted the men, who eventually returned the items they had stolen - including a cuddly lion mascot and Lego set.

Three signed England shirts, each worth $4,900 (£3,729), were among other kit stolen from the van which had driven overland from Florida to Kansas in a 21-hour trip and the gear was swiped at Columbia, 150 miles from Kansas City when the vehicle stopped.

They insist they were invited to 'help themselves' to the items and amongst those who lost boots were reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson who told the Daily Mail:'I got them back, so it's all good, we got everything back.'

On Wednesday the two drivers, who worked for a firm called Vista Trans Holding, and who are from San Antonio, Texas, appeared in court in Kansas City for a bail hearing and lawyers successfully argued for their bond to be dropped from $75,000 (£57,000) to $20,000 (£15,000).

Both men face up to seven years in jail if convicted and, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail, Kamal 'worked for nine years as a contractor for US military special forces assisting in the fight against the Taliban before immigrating to the United States.'

His defence argued that if Kamal, who is married with children, were returned to Afghanistan it 'would mean certain death' at the hands of the Taliban.

His lawyer Nicholas Bates added in the court papers filed at the Jackson County court in Kansas City: 'Mr Kamal is a devout Muslim and believes the crimes of theft are abhorrent to his religion.

'The alleged offence is not a crime of violence, the alleged victim recovered all items, no loss is alleged to have occurred, and Mr Kamal did not flee law enforcement.'

Mr Bates said his client had 'co-operated with the investigation' and 'as such does not pose a danger to the community or flight risk'.

Salik's lawyer, Matthew Merryman, also made a similar argument, but part of his written request was redacted for 'national security' and not made public.

Mr Merryman said his client had worked for the US military for '15 years assisting in the fight against the Taliban before immigrating to the United States'.

He also added that returning his client to Afghanistan 'would mean certain death' and echoed the same arguments as his colleague Mr Bates.

Both lawyers asked for the bond to be reduced and this was granted by judge Joel P Fahnstock, who also ordered both men to surrender their passports and not go within 1000ft of the England hotel, training facility or any other FIFA event space.

Speaking for the first time to the media Mr Bates told the Daily Mail: 'This was a misunderstanding and we hope to clear it up when it comes to trial, for legal reasons I cannot go into the details but we are confident of resolving it.

'They both deny the accusations made against them and insist they would never steal anything because it is against their religion to do so.'

Pashto interpreters were needed for Mr Kamal and the case for both men was adjourned until next month.