Members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were spotted in tears as they boarded a flight out of Australia Tuesday after at least seven of their teammates frantically sought asylum to avoid returning to the Islamic Republic amid fears of persecution.
At least one player refused to board the flight in Sydney at the last minute – making an at-the-wire plea to join a number of teammates who had already been granted asylum there, sources told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Another rogue player also made a Hail Mary pitch to remain behind, though it wasn’t immediately clear if she did so at the airport or before the team was bussed there.
An unidentified player on the Iranian women’s soccer team refused to board a plane in Australia headed back to Iran — as players who have sought asylum say they fear they will be persecuted if they return home. APThe remaining athletes — flanked by chaperones and handlers — ultimately boarded the Malaysia-bound flight, including several who had tears streaming down their faces, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Five of the seven players — Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi — were officially granted humanitarian visas earlier Tuesday after escaping their handlers at the hotel where they’d been staying on the Gold Coast a day earlier.
They requested assistance from the Australian government to remain in the country after their refusal to sing the national anthem at an Asia Cup match last week sparked backlash, with Iranian state media branding them “wartime traitors.”
The rest of the team, meanwhile, boarded a bus at the hotel before flying to Sydney’s domestic airport.
Once in Sydney, the team boarded another coach and were escorted to the nearby international terminal. Footage obtained by Nine News appeared to show at least one person on that bus waving what appeared to be a torch through the window.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australian officials and law enforcement were able to speak to the remaining players, including in private meetings, before they boarded the Malaysia-bound flight.
Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke posing with five Iranian women soccer players who have been granted asylum in Australia. AP“Every single … member of that team was put in a situation where they were just with Home Affairs officials, where the people who might put pressure on them were nowhere near them at all, and they were given a choice,” he said.
“I respect their independence and agency with whatever decision they chose.”
The soccer players were all given the opportunity to speak with their relatives before making a decision, Burke said.
A photo released by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs shows Burke with five Iranian women soccer players who applied for asylum after competing in the Women’s Asia Cup tournament being played in Australia. AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS/AFP via Getty ImagesThe asylum-seekers surfaced after President Trump on Monday urged the Australian government to offer safety to the players — warning they could potentially be killed if made to return to the Islamic Republic.
Fears had been mounting for the players’ safety ever since the female athletes stood in silence during Iran’s anthem ahead of their first match of the tournament against South Korea last week, just as the war broke out.
The women sang the anthem and saluted during subsequent games, fueling speculation they had been forced by government minders to do so.
After being eliminated from the tournament Sunday, Iranian fans desperately tried to prevent the team coach from leaving the stadium and were filmed chanting, “Save our girls!”
At least one player was spotted signing the word “help” through a window as their bus left the stadium, multiple activists claimed.
