The number of Iranian women’s soccer players remaining in Australia is rapidly diminishing, after three more team members who sought asylum changed their minds and decided to return to Iran.
Of the seven members of the delegation who defected after the Lionesses’ exit from the Women’s Asian Cup, just three now say they wish to remain in Australia.
The news will come as a blow to the Iranian diaspora in Australia, which campaigned for the women to be offered the chance to remain in the country.
“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,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Sunday morning.
“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options.
“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.”
Burke said every possible effort had been made to ensure the women were provided the chance to seek a new life 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,” he said.
Five team members separated from the team and sought asylum last Monday, and were later joined by two additional members of the delegation – one player and one member of the support staff.
Iranian player Mohaddeseh Zolfi, 21, contacted Iranian officials on Wednesday morning and asked to be collected from a safe house soon after Burke announced she had sought asylum in Australia.
The Iranian-Australian community feared at the time that the regime in Iran would redouble its efforts to convince the remaining women to return to Iran to achieve a propaganda victory over Australia.
“They are clearly being threatened. I am worried for the rest of them,” Tina Kordrostami, a leader in Sydney’s Iranian-Australian community who travelled to the Gold Coast to help the women escape, said at the time. “The regime is clearly escalating matters at its end.”
Sara Rafiee, a human rights activist, said: “This shows the amount of pressure they are under. I’m concerned for the other girls.”
A member of the Iranian soccer team told protesters in Malaysia they aren’t scared about going home and that officials have promised them rewards when they return.
In the video, translated by members of the diaspora, the player said they were promised “rewards” or “benefits” by officials and told that they would be welcomed and “treated well” upon their return, like “princesses” or queens.
More to come
Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
