A total of seven members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia, Home Secretary Tony Burke confirmed.
Two other women had sought asylum before the rest of the Iranian team left Sydney on a flight to Malaysia on Tuesday night: a player and a support member, Burke said at a news conference on Wednesday morning. He said they were both offered humanitarian visas and both accepted the offer. Visas were processed overnight.
He said the two women were separated from their carers and the rest of the group and met with federal police at a location attached to Brisbane Airport, before being reunited with them.
“I made them the same offer that I had made to the five players the night before, which was that if they wanted to receive a humanitarian visa for Australia, they would have a path to a permanent visa.
“I had the paperwork ready to run it right away. They both said yes. I approved it.”
The pair join five teammates whose humanitarian visas were confirmed by the Albanian government on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, Burke and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had encouraged other members of the team to seek asylum in Australia if they wished. Burke said “the same opportunity exists” for other players, while Albanese said “we are willing to provide help to other women on the team.”
Sources told Guardian Australia on Wednesday morning that a player and a staff member had not traveled outside Australia when the rest of the team departed.
The team arrived in Sydney shortly after 8:00 pm local time on Tuesday, after leaving the Gold Coast, where they played their final match of the tournament on Sunday – a 2-0 loss to the Philippines.
After the first five players were granted asylum, fans gathered at the airport, hoping that more players or staff would try to remain in Australia. Speculation had built up after the team became embroiled in controversy for refusing to sing the national anthem at its opening game 10 days ago, prompting threats of retaliation for “traitors” amid US and Israeli attacks on the country.
But fans were still frustrated as the team exited the plane through the back and were escorted to a bus surrounded by airport staff and Australian federal police.
More details soon…
