Iranian players taking refuge in Australia: two new footballers withdraw their asylum application and return to Iran

According to Iranian state media, two new players changed their minds this Saturday and headed for their country, accompanied by a member of the staff. A small group remains a refugee in Australia, while government threats could weigh on the women concerned.

Towards a new stage in this soap opera with twists and turns? Iranian state media announced on Saturday that two players from the women’s national football team which played in the Asian Cup in Australia, as well as a member of the management, had withdrawn their request for asylum in this country.

Seven members of the delegation – six players and a staff member – sought refuge in Australia after being described as “wartime traitors” in their country for refusing to sing the national anthem on the sidelines of a match played a few days after the flaring of the conflict between the Islamic Republic and the American-Israeli coalition.

One of the players withdrew her request earlier in the week and joined the rest of the team, stationed for several days in Malaysia awaiting their return to Iran, according to local media and Australian authorities.

State television Irib indicated on Saturday that “two players and a member of the technical staff” of the national team have also “renounced their request for asylum in Australia and are currently on their way to Malaysia”. The local media broadcast a photo of the three women – wearing Islamic hijabs – apparently about to board a plane.

The rest of the team is said to be still in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, awaiting their return to Iran.

Pressure on the players’ families?

According to Australian authorities, the first woman to withdraw her asylum application revealed the location of the players who had requested asylum when she contacted the Iranian embassy in Australia. The latter were then forced to change their secure location.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Iranian authorities of putting pressure on athletes abroad by threatening their relatives or seizing their property if they defect or make comments hostile to the Islamic Republic.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the courage of these women, promising that they would be welcomed with open arms. For his part, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, questioned the participation of the men’s team in the World Cup organized this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada.