Iranian national team player refused asylum in Australia to return to her homeland

One of the members of the Iranian women's national football team, who previously planned to stay in Australia, has changed her mind and is returning home. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced this while speaking in parliament.

The incident occurred against the background of a massive demarche of the team, writes xrust. On Tuesday evening, with the support of the federal police, two more members of the delegation — forward Mohaddese Zolfi and staff member Zahra Soltan Moshkekar — left the team to request protection. However, later one of them changed her mind. According to the minister, the decision was influenced by communication with other teammates.

The situation was complicated by the fact that the participant who decided to return contacted the Iranian Embassy, ​​essentially revealing the location of the group. For safety reasons, Australian authorities were forced to quickly transport the remaining players who received asylum to a new secure location.

Let us recall that the threat to the safety of the athletes arose after Iranian state media called them “traitors” for refusing to sing the anthem at the Asian Cup. A total of five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier, while the bulk of the delegation had already left Australia. Minister Burke emphasized that the authorities ensured that every woman had the opportunity to make a free choice without pressure from Iranian escorts.

Xrust Iranian national football player refused asylum in Australia to return to her homeland