Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has informed the Australian Parliament that one member of the Iranian women’s soccer team who had sought refuge in Australia changed her mind after speaking to her teammates.
The player, whose identity has been protected, changed his decision after receiving advice from teammates, Burke said Wednesday.
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Mr Burke later told Parliament he was informed that one member of the group had “talked to some of his teammates who have left the team and changed their minds”.
“She was advised by her teammates and advised to contact the Iranian embassy,” he said.
“As a result, the Iranian embassy now knows where everyone is.”
The remaining players were reportedly moved from a safe location to another location.
Australian officials had “confirmed that this was her decision,” he said, referring to the Iranian team member who changed her mind.
Burke earlier confirmed that additional players and team support staff had obtained humanitarian visas, after five players were previously granted asylum due to concerns about their safety if they returned to Iran after the team failed to sing the national anthem before a recent game.
Burke told reporters early Wednesday that the pair joined five other team members who were granted humanitarian visas the day before.
The remaining team and staff members flew from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night in emotional scenes, arriving in Malaysia early Wednesday morning.
Mr Burke said the pair had sought asylum before the team departed late on Tuesday night, adding that all the women were taken out individually by Australian authorities and an interpreter without the presence of Iranian observers, and offered asylum as they passed through security at Sydney Airport.
“They were given a choice,” Burke said, later posting images of the players on social media.
“What we made sure in that situation was no rush, no pressure,” he said.
Burke also said that some people associated with the team had not been offered asylum, although he did not provide further details. Mr Burke said his departure from Sydney was delayed while one member of the delegation contacted his family to discuss staying in Australia.
“We didn’t know which way he was going to go,” he says. “In the end, that person made the decision for themselves.”
Mr Burke said the seven team members who had applied for asylum had been granted temporary humanitarian visas, which provide a pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said the visas given to team members are valid for 12 months and are similar to visas given to applicants from Ukraine, Palestine and Afghanistan.
The team’s departure from a hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast and arrival at Sydney’s domestic airport ahead of its international departure came amid protests by Iranian-Australians who tried to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing safety concerns in Iran.
“Iran is waiting for you with open arms.”
Concerns over the safety of players were raised after Iranian state television labeled the team “traitors” after refusing to sing the national anthem before their first Asian Cup match in Australia. The team later sang the national anthem at other games.
However, Iran’s General Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday that the remaining members of the team were invited to return home “in peace and confidence,” Iranian media reported.
“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland in peace and confidence, as well as address the concerns of their families,” the General Prosecutor’s Office said, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai also urged the players to “go back home.”
“Dear Iranian women’s soccer team, don’t worry. Iran is waiting with open arms,” Baghai wrote in X on Tuesday.
The Iranian team participated in the Women’s Asian Cup tournament in Australia just as the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei and many senior officials.
The US and Israel’s war against Iran enters its 12th day, with at least 1,255 people killed in devastating airstrikes on the capital Tehran, other cities, key infrastructure and civilian facilities.
The high-profile offer of asylum to the footballer also comes as the Australian government moves to introduce legislation that would ban travel to Australia from certain countries where authorities are concerned they could overstay their visas due to wars in the Middle East.
According to the ABC, the bill would allow the government to suspend entry to Australia from designated countries for up to six months, even if they already hold a valid temporary visa.
The Australian Green Party said on Tuesday the law was “clearly aimed at deterring Iranians from seeking safety in Australia”.
“We know who Labor is targeting: Iranians, Lebanese, Qatari and the whole Middle East. It’s clearly aimed at a mass visa freeze like President Trump’s,” Greens senator David Shoebridge said, referring to the ruling Australian Labor Party and US President Donald Trump, who has also banned citizens from certain countries from entering the US.
Asylum Seeker Resource Center chief executive Kon Karapanagiotidis said the government was acting hypocritically.
“Australia and the United States are sending our troops to the Middle East to liberate the Iranian people, but at the same time we are putting legislation in place that will allow us to close the door to the same people who need our protection, and who already have visas to travel to Australia,” he said, according to the ABC broadcaster.
