A member of the Iranian women’s soccer team who sought refuge in Australia changed her mind after speaking to her teammates, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told the Australian parliament.
The player, whose identity was being protected, changed her decision on the advice of her teammates, Burke revealed Wednesday.
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Burke told parliament that he had since been informed that a member of the group “had spoken to some of the colleagues who left and changed their mind”.
“Her teammates had advised her and encouraged her to contact the Iranian embassy,” he said.
“As a result of that, the Iranian embassy now knew where everyone was.”
The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.
Australian officials had “made sure this was their decision”, he said, referring to the Iran team member who had changed his mind.
Previously, Burke confirmed that an additional player and a member of the team’s support staff had been granted humanitarian visas, after five players were previously granted asylum over concerns about their safety should they return to Iran, following the team’s failure to sing its national anthem before a recent match.
The couple joined five other team members who were granted humanitarian visas a day earlier, Burke told reporters Wednesday.
The rest of the team and staff members flew from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday afternoon amid emotional scenes and arrived in Malaysia early on Wednesday morning.
Burke said the couple sought asylum before the team left the country on Tuesday night, adding that all the women were separated individually by Australian officials and interpreters, with no Iranian caretakers present, and offered asylum as they passed through security at Sydney airport.
“They were given a choice,” said Burke, who later posted images of the players on social media.
“In that situation, what we made sure was that there was no rush, that there was no pressure,” he said.
Burke also said some people linked to the team were not offered asylum, without providing details. A member of the delegation delayed boarding a flight out of Sydney while they contacted relatives and deliberated about staying in Australia, Burke said.
“We weren’t sure which path that person would take,” he said. “That individual ultimately made his own decision.”
The seven team members who applied for asylum were granted temporary humanitarian visas, which is a path to permanent residency in Australia, Burke said.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the visas offered to team members are valid for 12 months and are similar to those granted to applicants from Ukraine, Palestine and Afghanistan.
The team’s departure from their hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast and arrival at Sydney’s domestic airport ahead of their international departure came amid protests, as Iranian Australians sought to stop the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.
‘Iran awaits you with open arms’
Concerns about the players’ safety arose after Iranian state television called the team “traitors” for refusing to sing the national anthem before their first Asia Cup match in Australia. The team later sang the anthem at other games.
However, Iran’s attorney general’s office said Tuesday that the remaining members of the team were invited home “with peace and trust,” Iranian media reported.
“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland with peace and confidence, in addition to addressing the concerns of their families,” the Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted the attorney general’s office as saying.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also urged the players to “go back home.”
“To the Iranian women’s soccer team: don’t worry, Iran is waiting for you with open arms,” Baghaei wrote in X on Tuesday.
The Iranian team joined the women’s Asian Cup tournament in Australia just as the United States and Israel launched their war against 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-Israel war against Iran, which has entered its 12th 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 to the football players also comes as the Australian government has moved to introduce legislation to ban people from certain countries traveling to Australia because authorities fear they may overstay their welcome due to the war in the Middle East.
According to the ABC, the proposed law would allow the government to prevent people from designated 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 “clearly aimed at preventing people from Iran from seeking safety in Australia”.
“We know who this is aimed at from the Labor Party: it is aimed at the people of Iran, the people of Lebanon, the people of Qatar and the entire Middle East. It is clearly designed to be a mass Trump-style visa freeze,” said Greens senator David Shoebridge, referring to the ruling Australian Labor Party and US President Donald Trump, who has also banned people from certain countries from entering the US.
Kon Karapanagiotidis, executive director of the Asylum Seeker Resource Center, said the government was acting hypocritically.
“Australia and the United States are sending our military to the Middle East to liberate the people of Iran and, at the same time, they are legislating so they can close the doors to those same people who need our protection and who already have a visa to travel to Australia,” he said, according to ABC.
