Iranian Women’s Football Player Changes Mind On Australia Asylum, Decides To Return Home

One member of Iran’s women’s football delegation reversed her asylum decision and chose to return home after Australian police helped two team members escape their minders Tuesday evening, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced Wednesday.

Australian Federal Police separated 21-year-old striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staffer Zahra Soltan Moshkehkar from their team Tuesday evening, allowing them to claim asylum one day after Australia granted protection to five other players.

However, one of the two changed her mind after speaking with teammates who had already left for Iran.

Naija News reported earlier that Australia granted asylum to five Iranian women’s football players after they expressed fears about returning home. Iranian state television labelled the team “wartime traitors” after they refused to sing the national anthem during their Women’s Asian Cup match.

Authorities Move Players After Embassy Contact

Burke told parliament that authorities moved the remaining asylum seekers to a safe location after the member who reversed her decision contacted the Iranian embassy, exposing their whereabouts.

“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. In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel. And so, we respect the context in which she has made that decision,” Burke said, without revealing who chose to return to Iran.

Naija News gathered that Australian Federal Police removed Zolfi and Moshkehkar from the rest of the team before they boarded a domestic flight to Sydney.

Australian officials separated the remaining team members from their Iranian minders at Sydney airport and informed them of their asylum options before their flight departed Australia.

All those who reached the airport chose to return to Iran.

“What we made sure of was that there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice,” Burke said during a media briefing in Canberra.

Team Stops In Malaysia On Route To Iran

According to reports, the Iranian women’s team, which left Australia on Tuesday, arrived in Kuala Lumpur on its way to Iran.

The Asian Football Confederation confirmed their arrival, saying the players were staying at a hotel in the Malaysian capital.

“The AFC will provide all necessary support to the team during their stay until their onward travel arrangements are confirmed,” a confederation spokesperson said.

The Iranian embassy in Kuala Lumpur told Malaysian state news agency Bernama the players were doing well and “want to return home.”

The Iranian team’s tournament campaign in Australia began just as the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranians living in Australia have shown their support for the players, surrounding the players’ bus in Gold Coast as they departed the hotel for the airport. Many protesters also appeared at Sydney airport on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, in an unprecedented move by the regime, Iran’s general prosecutor’s office invited the remaining team members back to the country “with peace and confidence,” Iranian media reported Tuesday.