A fifth member of the Iranian women’s football team has withdrawn their asylum claim and left the country on the weekend, the federal government has confirmed. Source: ABC News.
Seven team members, including a player handler, were granted humanitarian visas by the Australian Government last week while they were here for the Asian Cup tournament.
Local Iranian diaspora members campaigning for the women to stay claim the staff member granted asylum was passing on threats from the Iranian regime.
Government sources say they have looked into those claims and have no reason to believe them.
Three members who had sought asylum decided to return to Iran on Sunday.
The remaining members of Iran’s women’s football team might have left Australia, but the journey is far from over, as members of the Iranian-Australian community share what really went into the fight to protect their countrywomen.
Australia’s Home Affairs department gave the three players requesting a return home multiple chances to reconsider before their request was honoured.
“While the Australian Government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.
“The Australian Government has done everything we could to make sure these women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia.”
Players Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and a team support staff member left Australia over the weekend for Kuala Lumpur, where they met up with other team members who are returning to Tehran.
The Iranian Football Association said the players would return to Tehran in the coming days after rejoining the rest of the team in Malaysia.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said the latest three to leave Australia were two players and the support staff member.
The three were “returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland”, the news outlet said in a statement.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They were eliminated from the tournament last Sunday.
FULL STORY
Fifth member of Iranian women’s soccer team leaves Australia (By Isobel Roe, ABC News)
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‘Worried for them’: Iranian football members en route to Tehran after rescinding asylum (By Cameron Carr, Biwa Kwan and Niv Sadrolodabaee, SBS News)
