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Two more members of Iran’s women’s soccer team have been granted asylum in Australia before their teammates leave, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday.
The two have been joined by five players who were granted humanitarian visas the previous day, Burke told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. One of those in the latter group was a player and the other was a team employee, Burke said, and both sought shelter before their teammates were taken to the airport.
Another departure of the team from Sydney, Australia to return to Iran late Tuesday local time occurred during a protest full of anger at the hotel of the team and at the airport, where Iranian Australians want to prevent women from leaving the country, fearing for their safety in Iran.
Their flight left on Tuesday night.
Burke said that as the women passed through Australian border security, they were each taken aside by Australian officials and an interpreter, without counselors present, and given asylum. Some called their families in Iran to discuss the proposal, he added, but no other team members decided to stay in Australia.
“They were given the opportunity to choose,” he said. “In that situation we ensured that there was no haste, no pressure.
Those seeking asylum have received temporary humanitarian visas, with pathways to permanent Australian citizenship, Burke said. He also added that some members of the delegation were not given asylum because they were connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Iran’s team arrived in Australia to play in the Asian Women’s Cup last month, before Iran’s war began on February 28. The team was kicked out of the tournament at the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to the bombed country.
Australia has granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian women’s soccer players after US President Donald Trump urged Canberra not to send them back to Tehran due to security concerns. The move follows reports that the team did not sing the national anthem before the game last week and could face sanctions. Officials say other players are also welcome to stay.
Iranian teams in Australia have called on the government to ban women from leaving the country after the team made headlines in Australia when players did not sing the Iranian national anthem before their first match. These players did not speak publicly about their decision not to sing and later on they saluted and sang the national anthem before their other games.
It was not clear how many people were on the team, but the official team list named 26 players, along with coaches and other staff.
Burke dismissed suggestions that Australian officials should have done more to prevent the women’s movement.
“Australia’s intention here was not to force people to make a particular decision,” he said. “We are not that kind of nation.”
The minister said he had seen widely published footage showing one of the women being led by the hand from the team’s hotel on the Gold Coast in Queensland to the bus by their colleagues. Whether that was enforced was a matter for local Australian police, Burke said.
The Iranian team has been a popular presence in Australia throughout the tournament. The top soccer team in Brisbane, the city closest to where the women are based for the tournament, posted on social media on Wednesday inviting the women who sought asylum in Australia to train with their team.
