Iranian soccer team leaves Australia, with seven women staying behind

Seven women from Iran’s national soccer team are staying in Australia, an Australian government official said Wednesday, as the rest of their team returns to a country at the center of a conflict spanning the Middle East.

They had arrived to play in the Women’s Asian Cup before the United States and Israel began pummeling Iran on Feb. 28, and were eliminated from the tournament over the weekend.

Six of the women accepted humanitarian visas that will allow them to stay in Australia permanently, while the seventh ultimately decided to return to Iran, said Tony Burke, Australian Home Affairs Minister.

“In Australia, people can change their minds, people can travel and so we respect the context in which she made that decision,” Burke told lawmakers in Canberra.

The woman, who Burke did not name, was one of two people – a player and a support staff member – who accepted Australia’s offer of help on Tuesday night, in addition to five others who were granted asylum a day earlier. Burke said she changed her mind after speaking to some of her teammates who had already left and was advised to contact the Iranian embassy and arrange for them to pick her up.

“My officials made sure that it was his decision and that any questions you wanted to ask were asked,” he said.

With their locations now revealed, the other women were quickly moved elsewhere, Burke added.

On Tuesday evening, as the rest of the delegation went through customs and immigration at Sydney Airport to catch their departing flight, most members were pulled aside individually and “given a choice” by Australian government officials speaking through interpreters, Burke said.

“We made sure there was no rush, no pressure,” he told reporters earlier on Wednesday. “It was all about ensuring the dignity of these individuals so that they could make a choice. »

No one else accepted Australia’s offer of asylum during the “emotional” meetings, during which some team members called their families in Iran, Burke said.

“I can’t imagine what people thought,” he said.

The women’s story has captivated Australia since their first match on March 2, when they remained silent during their national anthem in what was seen as a show of protest or mourning.

“That silence was heard like a roar all over the world,” Burke said.

The women, branded “traitors” on Iranian state television, then sang the anthem in their next two matches on Thursday and Sunday. They have not commented publicly on the war or their actions.

Fans, including Iranian Australians, who feared the women would be punished after returning home, blocked the team bus as it left a hotel for the airport on Australia’s Gold Coast. Others appeared at Sydney Airport on Tuesday evening.

Their situation also caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s handling of the “pretty delicate situation” and said the United States would accept the women if Australia did not.

The Asian Football Confederation, organizers of the tournament, said on Wednesday that the team was staying at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after flying from Sydney.

“The AFC will provide all necessary support to the team during their stay until travel arrangements are confirmed,” the group said in a statement, adding that it would “continue to prioritize the welfare and safety of players and officials.”

Iranian officials have rejected the idea that the team members would be persecuted upon their return.

“Iran is waiting for you with open arms. Come home,” Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s foreign minister, said in a message on X on Tuesday.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian football federation, accused Australian authorities of kidnapping the players. He also said the episode cast further doubt on Iran’s participation in the FIFA World Cup, which the United States will host this summer along with Canada and Mexico.

“Given the problems created for female footballers, if the prospects for the World Cup are such, no reasonable person would agree to be sent to the United States,” he was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.