Iran: the captain of the women’s football team withdraws her asylum application in Australia

Deliberate choice or forced by political pressure? The captain of the Iranian women’s football team, present in Australia for the Asian Cup, has withdrawn her request for asylum, Iranian state media said on Sunday. This announcement comes after the about-face of four other members of the delegation.

Zahra Ghanbari “has reversed her decision to request asylum” and will fly to Malaysia in the coming hours before returning to her country, wrote the Irna news agency, while NGOs regularly accuse Tehran of exerting pressure on Iranian athletes abroad.

Six players and a staff member initially sought refuge in Australia after being branded “wartime traitors” in Iran for refusing to sing the national anthem before a match in the competition.

By Editor

One thought on “Iran: the captain of the women’s football team withdraws her asylum application in Australia”

Leave a Reply