Another three members of Iran’s women’s soccer team who had accepted refugee visas to stay in Australia have decided to return to their homeland, an Australian government minister said on Sunday local time. Their departure leaves only three of the initial seven squad members remaining in Australia.
“Overnight, three members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran,” Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement. “After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Burke added.
Iran’s team had arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, before the war in the Middle East began on February 28. Initially, six players and a support staff member from a squad list of 26 accepted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia. Meanwhile, the rest of the Iranian contingent flew from Sydney to Malaysia on March 9.
One player later changed her mind and left Australia. The other three departed Sydney for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday night, a government official said. The rest of the team has remained in Kuala Lumpur since leaving Australia.
According to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the three who left Australia most recently were two players and the support staff member. The news outlet described their return as a move to “the warm embrace of their family and homeland.”
Concerns about the team’s safety in Iran had heightened when the players did not sing the Iranian national anthem before their first match in Australia. The Australian government was urged to assist the women by Iranian groups in Australia and by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Iranian news agency described the women’s return to Iran as the “disgraceful failure of the American-Australian project and another failure for Trump.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s men’s national soccer team’s participation in this summer’s World Cup in the U.S. remains uncertain. U.S. officials told CBS News on Tuesday that Mr. Trump had informed FIFA representatives, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, that Iran was welcome to compete in the tournament.
Infantino later wrote on social media that during the meeting, Mr. Trump “reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
However, Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali responded to Infantino’s comments by stating that the country cannot participate in the World Cup given the ongoing war.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump appeared to reverse his stance, saying he believed it would not be “appropriate” for the Iranian team to take part due to concerns “for their own life and safety.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/three-iran-women-soccer-team-members-decline-australia-asylum/
