Iranian Women’s Soccer Player Reverses Australia Asylum Decision

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(Bloomberg) — One of the two members of the Iranian women’s soccer team granted asylum by Australia on Tuesday night has decided to withdraw her claim and return to Iran, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

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On Wednesday morning, Burke said Australia had granted asylum to a sixth player and a support staff member of the Iranian delegation — bringing the total to seven — after the duo sought protection shortly before they were due to fly out on Tuesday night. However, one of the women reversed her decision hours later, opting to return Iran, Burke told Parliament.

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“Today, shortly after 10 a.m., I was advised that one of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who had left and had changed her mind,” Burke said. 

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The player contacted the Iranian embassy to get collected, Burke added, saying the remaining six had then had to be quickly moved for their safety. He didn’t disclose when the player will leave Australia.

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At a press conference earlier on Wednesday, Burke said he was on Tuesday informed that two members of the Iranian women’s football team wanted to accept Australia’s offer to remain in the country.

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With assistance from the Australian Federal Police, the pair was separated from the rest of the group and taken to a secure location near Brisbane Airport, where the minister met with them. 

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“I made them the same offer that I made the five players the night before,” Burke told reporters in Canberra. “If they wanted to receive a humanitarian visa for Australia, which would have a pathway to a permanent visa, I had the paperwork ready to execute that immediately.” 

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Burke said both of them accepted the offer. “I signed off on that and asked the department to start processing straight away.”

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The Iranian soccer team ended its campaign in the Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday with a 2–0 defeat to the Philippines, leaving players facing uncertainty about returning to Iran amid an escalating conflict in their homeland. Iranian state television had branded them traitors after they remained silent during the national anthem ahead of their opening loss to South Korea on March 2. 

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Burke detailed the steps taken to ensure the Iranians could make decisions free from outside pressure. As the full delegation later passed through customs and immigration, each player and support staff member was interviewed individually, without minders present, alongside immigration officials and an interpreter.

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Iran has said that the team could return home “with calm and confidence,” the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported Tuesday, citing a statement from the Attorney General’s Office. It added that the players acted “unintentionally” under emotional influence from what it described as “enemy conspiracies.” 

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Australia’s decision to grant the seven members of the delegation asylum comes after it agreed to send a surveillance aircraft and missiles to the Middle East to help defend against Iranian attacks.

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The US-Israeli bombing of Iran and the Islamic Republic’s counterstrikes since late February are reverberating globally, snarling energy supplies and grounding air transport. Iran has targeted Israel and Gulf states, widening a conflict that’s drawn over a dozen nations into the fray. 

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—With assistance from Aradhana Aravindan.

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