Iranian woman footballer granted asylum in Australia requests to return home

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - SYDNEY — One of the seven members of the Iranian football team delegation granted protection visas in Australia has changed her mind after speaking with teammates and asked to be returned to Iran, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on Wednesday.

The plight of the Iranian women's team has made worldwide news, after some players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before a televised football match in Australia.

One player and one support member sought sanctuary joining five other players who had already claimed asylum before the side flew out of Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening in emotional scenes.

Burke said he had since been advised one of the team who made the decision to stay in Brisbane before the team left for Sydney changed their mind.

"[They] had spoken to some of the teammates that had left and had changed her mind," Burke in parliament on Wednesday.

The woman contacted officials at the Iranian embassy, who collected her from the hotel where she were staying with the other members of the delegation who had decided to stay in Australia.

"As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was," Burke said.

The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.

He said officials had spoken to the woman who changed her mind to "make sure it was her decision" and that "every question you would want asked was asked".

The traveling squad arrived in Malaysia early Wednesday morning after flying out from Sydney.

Burke said each player was separated from the squad at Sydney airport and given time to mull the sanctuary offer in private.

"Can I simply say, for every member of this delegation, they have been shown a respect by Australia that would be unfamiliar to them in Iran.

They have been shown a country that is willing to say, 'The choice is yours,'" Burke said in parliament during Question Time.

The president of Iran's football federation said Australia pressured members of the women's soccer team into seeking asylum.

Speaking to state TV, Mehdi Taj said that when the team tried to leave the country, police intervened on the orders of the prime minister.

He expressed concern over men and women being separated at airport security, saying that the women were more vulnerable and had less experience with political pressures.

Burke detailed the final moments of the women's time in Australia in a media conference, explaining that the players were separated from their minders and spoken to individually as they passed through customs at Sydney International Airport on Tuesday evening.

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The plight of the football team, known as the Lionesses, has garnered international attention and input from US President Donald Trump after several players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before their initial match in Australia.

They were labeled "traitors" on Iranian state television in response, sparking concerns for their safety in the Islamic Republic.

"Australia's objective here was not to force people to make a particular decision. We're not that sort of nation," Burke told reporters on Wednesday.

The two additional team members had indicated to Australian officials on Tuesday that they wished to take up the offer of protection, at which point they were separated from the rest of the group and sequestered to a safe location by Australian police.

Burke then traveled to Brisbane to meet with the pair, armed with the documentation necessary to start the visa process immediately.

"I made them the same offer that I had made the five players the night before, and that was that if they wanted to receive a humanitarian visa for Australia … I had the paperwork ready to execute that immediately," he said.

"They both said that they did."

At that point, all of the remaining players and "most of the supporting people" were taken individually into meeting rooms and once again offered the chance to stay in Australia, Burke said.

Some of the team members chose to contact family members at this stage, he added, but "ultimately, in Sydney, none of those individuals made the decision to take up the offer from Australia".

"What we made sure of was there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice," Burke said.

"Obviously, the one pressure we couldn't take away was the context."

The remaining members of the delegation traveled on to Sydney where they were scheduled to depart on an international flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.

One member of the delegation was delayed in boarding the flight due to efforts to contact family members overseas and deliberations over whether to depart, the minister said in response to speculation that at least one person did not leave willingly.

The Australian government determined not to offer visas to a "small number" of people traveling with the group.

"There were some people leaving Australia who I am glad they're no longer in Australia," Burke said.

He later clarified that the comment was in reference to people traveling with the group who appeared to pressure or discourage the women from accepting the offer to stay in Australia. — Agencies