Iran played three games on the Gold Coast at the Women’s Asian Cup.
Photo: ABC News
Three members of Iran’s women’s football team have decided to return to Iran after being granted humanitarian visas.
In a statement, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says they were given repeated opportunities to discuss their options, but the players have chosen to rejoin their team and return to Iran.
Last week, seven players and support staff sought asylum following the Women’s Asian Cup tournament in Australia.
Four members have now decided to leave Australia.
“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,” the minister said in a statement on Sunday morning.
“The Australian government has done everything it could to make sure these women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia.
“Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them.”
The Iran team came to Australia to play in the tournament which began on 1 March, the day after air strikes from the United States and Israel on Iran which killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Before the team’s first game against South Korea, a number of the team’s players did not sing the national anthem.
Iranian state television later labelled the team “traitors”.
Under the Islamic Republic’s penal code, corruption or treason can lead to lengthy prison sentences or the death penalty.
Initially, five members of the team escaped from their team hotel on the Gold Coast, seeking asylum out of fear they would face persecution if they returned home.
They were granted humanitarian visas. A day later, another player and a member of staff also sought asylum and were also granted visas.
However the following day, one of the seven changed their mind and returned to Iran.
– ABC