Seven women from Iran’s national soccer team remain in Australia, an Australian government official said on Wednesday, as the rest of the team returned to the country at the center of the conflict in the Middle East.
They had come to play in the Asian Women’s Cup before the United States and Israel began beating Iran on Feb. 28, and were eliminated from the tournament at the weekend.
Six of these women have received humanitarian visas that will allow them to stay permanently in Australia, while the seventh has decided to return to Iran after all, said Tony Burke, Australia’s home affairs minister.
“In Australia, people are able to change their minds, people are able to leave so we respect the context in which he 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 worker – who accepted Australia’s appeal for help on Tuesday night, in addition to five others who received asylum the previous day. Burke said he changed his mind after talking to some of his colleagues who had already left, and that he was advised to contact the Iranian Embassy and arrange for him to be picked up.
“My officials have made sure that this is his decision and all the questions you might want about citizenship are being asked,” he said.
With their location now revealed, the other women were quickly relocated, Burke added.
On Tuesday night, as the rest of the delegation entered Sydney airport for departure, many members were taken out individually and “given a choice” by Australian government officials who spoke through an interpreter, Burke said.
“We made sure there was no rush, no pressure,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “It was all about ensuring the dignity of those people to vote.”
No one else accepted Australia’s request for asylum in the “emotional” meetings, where some members of the group called their families in Iran, Burke said.
“I can’t imagine that people have been drinking,” he said.
The story of these women has impressed Australia since their first match on March 2, where they remained silent during the singing of the national anthem in what was seen in different ways as a demonstration of protest or fasting.
“That silence was heard like a roar around the world,” Burke said.
The women, branded “traitors” on Iranian state television, then sang the national anthem in their next two matches on Thursday and Sunday. They have not publicly commented on the war or their actions.
Fans, including Iranian Australians, who feared the women would be punished after returning home blocked the team’s bus as it left a hotel on its way to the Gold Coast airport in Australia. Others appeared at Sydney Airport on Tuesday night.
Their situation has also attracted the attention of President Donald Trump, who praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s handling of the “critical situation” and said the US would take the women if Australia did not.
The Asian Football Confederation, which organized the tournament, said on Wednesday the team was staying at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after flying from Sydney.
“AFC will provide all necessary support to the team during their stay until their travel arrangements are further confirmed,” the club said in a statement, adding that it “will continue to prioritize the welfare and safety of players and officials.”
Iranian officials dismissed the idea that members of the group would face persecution upon their return.
“Iran is waiting for you with open arms. Come home,” said Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday in the X post.
Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, accused the Australian authorities of abducting the players. He also said that this episode casts more doubt on Iran’s participation in the FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the US this summer along with Canada and Mexico.
“Considering the problems caused by female soccer players, if the idea of the World Cup is like this, no sane person would agree to be sent to the US,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s state media.
