Australia has confirmed two more members of Iran’s women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas, after the five players sought asylum out of concern for their safety if returned to Iran, after the team failed to sing their national anthem before a recent match.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday that one player and team support staff had decided to stay in Australia after being granted asylum.
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Burke told reporters the pair now join five other team members who were granted humanitarian visas on Tuesday.
He said the couple sought asylum before the team left the country late on Tuesday, with all the women escorted separately by Australian officials and interpreters without Iranian escorts and offered asylum as they passed through security at Sydney airport.
“They were given a choice,” said Burke, who later posted pictures of the players on social media.
“In that situation, we made sure there was no rush, no pressure,” he said.
Burke said some people connected to the team have not been granted asylum, without providing details. Burke said a member of the delegation delayed boarding a flight out of Sydney while they contacted family members and discussed staying in Australia.
“We weren’t sure which way the guy was going to go,” he said. “The man ultimately made his own decision.”
Burke said the seven team members who sought asylum had received temporary humanitarian visas, a pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), visas issued to team members are valid for 12 months and are similar to visas issued to applicants from Ukraine, Palestine and Afghanistan.
The team’s departure from their hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast and arrival at the domestic airport in Sydney ahead of their international departure took place amid protests, with Iranian Australians attempting to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.
Iran awaits you with open arms
Concerns about player safety emerged after Iranian state television labeled the team “traitors” for refusing to sing the national anthem before their first Asia Cup match in Australia. The team then sang the anthem at other matches.
However, Iran’s General Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday that the remaining members of the team had been invited home “in peace and confidence”, Iranian media reported.
“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland in peace and confidence, and in addition to addressing the concerns of their families,” the General Prosecutor’s Office was quoted as saying by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Esmail Baghai, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also urged the players to “come home”.
“To Iran’s women’s football team: don’t worry – Iran is waiting for you with open arms,” Baghai wrote on X on Tuesday.
The Iranian team joined the Women’s Asian Cup tournament in Australia just as the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many senior officials.
At least 1,255 people have been killed in the US-Israeli war over Iran, which has entered its 11th day and has seen devastating airstrikes on the capital Tehran and other cities as well as key infrastructure and civilian sites.
The high-profile offer of asylum for the footballers comes as the Australian government moves to introduce legislation to ban people from certain countries who authorities fear may overstay their visas because of the war in the Middle East from traveling to Australia.
According to the ABC, the proposed law would allow the government to prevent people from nominated countries from entering Australia for up to six months, even if they already have a valid temporary visa.
The Australian Greens Party said on Tuesday the law was “aimed at preventing people from Iran from seeking safety in Australia”.
“We know who this is targeting from Labor, it’s targeting the people of Iran, the people of Lebanon, the people of Qatar and the whole of the Middle East. It’s clearly designed to be a Trump-like mass visa freeze,” Greens senator David Shoebridge said.
Conn Karapanagiotidis, chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said the Australian government was being hypocritical.
“Australia and the US are sending our military into the Middle East to liberate the Iranian people and at the same time they are making laws so they can close the door on the same people who need our protection – and already have visas to travel to Australia,” he said, according to the ABC.
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