US EditionAnother 3 members of Iran’s women’s soccer team decide against staying in Australia as refugees
Three Iranian women’s soccer players who sought asylum during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia reversed their decisions and will return home, leaving only three defectors remaining.
- On Friday, coach Marziyeh Jafari said state TV comments affected Iran women's national football team players psychologically and drove some to seek asylum in Australia.
- After players stood silent during the anthem before the first match against South Korea, Mohammad Reza Shahbazi, IRIB presenter, labelled them 'wartime traitors'.
- Australia this week granted humanitarian protection visas to five Iranian players, while two more squad members received asylum on Wednesday and one chose to return to Iran.
- Australian police called the players one-on-one to persuade them to stay, but Jafari said most refused while Mohaddeseh Zolfi later reversed her decision and will return.
- Advocates note the broader visa backlog and said rapid subclass 866 visa grants for footballers highlight distress amid more than 24,000 applications lodged in 2024-25 and 4,000 approvals in 2024-25, including 462 of Iranian citizenship.
57 Articles
57 Articles
Three of the Iranian Female Footballers Who Sought Asylum in Australia Will Return to Their Homeland
Of the seven original team members, only three remain in Australia.
Three more members of the Iranian women's football national team have left Australia again! That's what Australian interior minister Tony Burke said. So the three women had decided to return to their war-affected home country.The fate of the Iranian team had caused a lot of turmoil this week.After leaving the Asian Cup, five female players had initially applied for asylum in Australia.Dangerous consequences?Another player and a member of the sup…
Three more Iranian footballers backflip on decision to stay in Australia
Three more players from the Iranian women's football team who were granted asylum in Australia over fears for their safety have decided to return home.The team were branded "traitors" by the Islamic regime when they refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before their Asian Cup game on the Gold Coast against South Korea following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.The federal government organised humanitarian visas for six members of the…
Three Iranian footballers return home from Australia
Iranian players saluting for the national anthem after being reprimanded for not singing in an earlier match. Photo: Getty Images Three women from the Iranian football team who were granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia have decided to return to their homeland.
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