The Iranian women's soccer team is set to leave Malaysia on Monday night, as most of the seven squad members who sought asylum in Australia have reversed their decisions and rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur. According to CBS News, Iran's Tasnim News Agency described the women's return to the team as a 'disgraceful failure of the American-Australian project.' The agency stated that the three players were returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland.
Key Takeaways
Three more members of Iran’s women’s soccer team have decided against staying in Australia as refugees and will return home, leaving only two of an initial seven squad members still in the country. The players identified by human rights activists are Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, Mona Hamoudi, and Zahra Sarbali. They will join the rest of their team in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Three more Iranian women's soccer players have decided to return home from Australia.
- Only two of an initial seven squad members remain in Australia as refugees.
- The players are set to leave Malaysia for Oman but it isn’t their final destination.
- Human rights activists claim the women may have been pressured to reverse their decisions through threats against their families.
The squad flew from Sydney on March 10 after being knocked out of the Women's Asian Cup in Australia. Initially, six players and a support staff member accepted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia while the rest of the contingent left for Malaysia on March 9. However, as reported by NPR, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke stated that two players and a team support staff member had left Sydney for Malaysia on Saturday.
The Iranian women’s soccer team arrived in Australia last month for the Women's Asian Cup just before the war in the Middle East began. Concerns about their safety heightened when the team members refused to sing Iran's national anthem before their first match against South Korea, leading to them being labeled as 'war traitors' by some Iranian state media outlets.
According to BBC, Zahra Ghanbari, the captain of Iran's women's football team, withdrew her Australian asylum bid and will return to Iran from Malaysia. Human rights activists claim that the women may have been pressured to reverse their decisions through threats against their families. Shiva Amini, an exiled former Iranian national futsal player, stated on X that Iran's Football Federation and IRGC placed intense pressure on the players' families.
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