Fifth member of Iran's women's soccer team changes her mind about seeking asylum in Australia - CBS News

A fifth of the seven members of Iran's women's football team who received refugee visas to stay in Australia have changed their minds, a sports official has said.

Five members of Iran's women's national soccer team change their minds about accepting asylum in Australia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Another member of Iran's women's soccer team, who was granted a refugee visa to stay in Australia, has decided to return home, a sports official said on Monday.

This leaves two of the original seven members who accepted asylum based on their original decision.

Women's disease groups in Iran have not yet revealed their plans to leave Malaysia with most of the seven who were granted asylum in Australia eight years ago, the diplomatic organization said, responding to its colleagues in Kuala Lumpur.

The team was kicked out of the Women's Asian Cup in Sydney on March 10, leaving behind six players and one support staff member who received security clearance.

Four players and staff have since joined the squad in Kuala Lumpur, the latest on Monday.No reason for the change of heart was given, but the Iranian diaspora in Australia blamed pressure from Tehran.Some suspect the team will hold a 10-hour flight from Sydney until the two outstanding players are convinced to join from Australia.

The team is supported by the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur. The federation's general manager, Windsor Paul John, said the team was awaiting a connecting flight to its war-torn homeland in Malaysia's largest city.

"It could be today, tomorrow or next week," Windsor told reporters in Kuala Lumpur."We're just waiting for them to tell us their plans."

Windsor said his union had received no direct complaints from players about returning home. This comes despite media reports that their family in Iran may face retaliation for the team's failure to sing the national anthem before the opening game.

"We couldn't confirm anything. We asked them and they said, 'No, it's fine,'" he said. "They were actually in high spirits... They didn't seem scared."

The Iranian authorities have hailed the women's decision to reject asylum as a victory against Australia and President Trump.

The Iranian national team arrived in Australia for the tournament just before the outbreak of war in the Middle East on February 28 and faced travel difficulties.

Matt Thistlewaite, Assistant Minister for Immigrationdescribes the situation of women in Australia as"A very complicated situation"

"These are deeply personal decisions, and the government respects the decisions of those who choose to return. And we will continue to support the remaining two."

He said those remaining in Australia had been relocated to an undisclosed safe location and were receiving assistance from the government and the Iranian diaspora community.

Macquarie University Sydney political scientist Kylie Moore Gilbert, who spent more than two years in Iranian prisons from 2018 to 2020 on charges of espionage, said "winning the propaganda war" had undermined women's well-being.

"The high stakes, I think, forced the Iranian regime to pay attention and try to force its hand in response," Moore-Gilbert said.

"I think in this case, if these women had quietly asked for asylum without that publicity around them, it is possible that the officials in the Islamic Republic could have, as they have done in the past with other Iranian athletes who defected ... just allowed it to happen," he added.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that the players left Australia to "return to the warmth of family and country", describing their return as a failure of what it called the US-Australian political effort.

Concerns about the safety of the Iranian team increased when the players did not sing the national anthem of Iran.

Iranian groups in Australia and the US president have urged the Australian government to help the women.

Some members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia have blamed an aid worker who initially accepted the aylum, then left Australia on Saturday, spreading Iranian government propaganda to colleagues via text message.

Thistlethwaite said there was no evidence to support the theory that staff encouraged others to leave.He said all those who remained in Australia after the team left were real refugees.

Iran's embassy in the capital Canberra remains staffed despite the Australian government expelling the ambassador last year.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cut diplomatic ties with Iran in August after announcing that intelligence officials had concluded that the Revolutionary Guard led arson attacks on a kosher food company in Sydney and the Adas Israel synagogue in Melbourne in 2024.

Kambiz Razmara, vice-president of the Australian-Iranian Victoria Association, said women seeking asylum were being harassed by the Tehran regime.

"They had to make decisions in the moment with very little information and they had to react to the circumstance," Razmara said.