SYDNEY: An Iranian women&#39;s football team member who sought sanctuary in Australia has changed her mind after speaking with teammates, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday.&nbsp;Seven members of Iran&#39;s visiting women&#39;s football team had claimed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/five-iran-women-footballers-take-asylum-in-australia" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">asylum</a>&nbsp;in Australia after they were branded &quot;traitors&quot; at home over a pre-match protest.&nbsp;One player and one support member sought sanctuary before the side flew out of Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening in emotional scenes, joining five other athletes who had already claimed asylum.&nbsp;Burke said in parliament on Wednesday that he had since been advised one of the group &quot;had spoken to some of the team mates that left and changed their mind.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;She had been advised by her teammates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;As a result of that, it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was.&quot;&nbsp;The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.&nbsp;The travelling squad arrived in Malaysia early Wednesday morning after flying out from Sydney, AFP photos at Kuala Lumpur International Airport showed.&nbsp;There were fears that male minders travelling with the team might try to prevent other women seeking asylum.&nbsp;Burke said each player was separated from the squad at Sydney Airport and given time to mull the offer in private.&nbsp;Australian officials had &quot;made sure this was her decision,&quot; he said, referring to the Iranian team member who had changed her mind.

Football

Seven Iranian women’s football team members sought asylum in Australia after being labelled 'traitors' over a protest. One later changed her mind after speaking with teammates and contacting the Iranian embassy. The remaining players were relocated for safety.

Iranian women's football team member changes mind on asylum in Australia

GOLD COAST: Five players from Iran&rsquo;s visiting women&rsquo;s football team have claimed asylum in Australia, saying they feared punishment at home after refusing to sing the national anthem during a tournament match. Among those seeking protection is the team&rsquo;s captain, Zahra Ghanbari. The players reportedly slipped away from their hotel on Australia&rsquo;s Gold Coast late at night before approaching authorities for help. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the development on Tuesday, saying the athletes had been moved to a safe location and granted special visas on humanitarian grounds. &ldquo;Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They&rsquo;re safe here, and they should feel at home here,&rdquo; Albanese said, adding that the media had shown restraint by delaying reports of the asylum request until the players were secure. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government held several days of confidential discussions with the players before arranging their transfer to a safe house. He said the footballers were granted special visas after leaving the team hotel, and described an emotional moment when they celebrated after receiving confirmation of their protection status. The controversy began last week when members of Iran&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s team stood silent during the national anthem before a match against South Korea, a gesture widely interpreted as a sign of protest against the authorities in Iran. Pictures showed the players huddled around a table as Burke signed paperwork granting them special visas to stay in Australia on humanitarian grounds. The players broke out into chants of &quot;Aussie, Aussie, Aussie&quot;, Burke said, adding that the rest of the team would also be welcome to stay in the country if they wished. It was unclear whether the remaining players in the Iranian squad would fly home or when they might leave Australia. US President Trump was among the first to confirm five players were safely in the care of Australian officials, following a late-night call with Prime Minister Albanese. He had hours earlier urged Australia to do the right thing, saying it would be a &quot;terrible humanitarian mistake&quot; if the players were forced back to Iran. &#39;Wartime traitors&#39; A presenter on Iranian state TV branded the players &quot;wartime traitors&quot; after they stood motionless during the anthem before a match against South Korea last week. Although they sang the anthem, an ode to the glory of the Islamic Republic in later matches, human rights activists warned the damage was done. Politicians, human rights activists and even &quot;Harry Potter&quot; author J.K. Rowling had called for Australia to offer the side protection. Supporters gathered outside the stadium on the Gold Coast during the team&rsquo;s matches over the weekend, beating drums and chanting slogans in support of the players. It remains unclear whether the rest of the Iranian squad will return home or seek to remain in Australia. Authorities said other team members would also be welcome to stay if they wished.

This photo taken on March 8, 2026 shows Iranian players running towards their positions at the start of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between Iran and the Philippines on the Gold Coast. (AFP)

Australasia

Five members of Iran’s women’s football team sought asylum in Australia after refusing to sing the national anthem and facing backlash at home.

Five Iran women footballers take asylum in Australia 

ANAHEIM: Afghans who worked alongside US troops during almost two decades of war were once promised a home in the United States to shelter them from the extremist intolerance of the Taliban.&nbsp; But after two National Guard soldiers were shot -- one of them fatally -- in Washington last month, allegedly by an Afghan national, their fates have been put on hold, and many are now terrified about what the future might bring. &lsquo;Everybody is scared&rsquo;&ldquo;Everybody is scared,&rdquo; a 31-year-old Afghan green card holder told AFP. &ldquo;We are scared that we will be judged by people for the crimes committed by one individual from Afghanistan.&rdquo; West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds after what officials described as an &ldquo;ambush-style&rdquo; attack that also left fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, fighting for his life. The following day President Donald Trump announced he was halting all migration from what he called &ldquo;third world countries,&rdquo; including Afghanistan, as his administration announced a review of all residency grants for people from 19 countries -- around 1.6 million people, according to an AFP tally. Afghans fear being sent back&nbsp;Now Afghans fear they might be sent back to a nation run by extremists who they once worked to defeat. &ldquo;I made my home in America, now this is my home. If I leave here where I have to go then?&rdquo; sobbed Maryam. Like all Afghan nationals AFP spoke to for this story, Maryam did not want to be identified for fear of angering US immigration authorities. &ldquo;When I sleep my chest feels very painful, empty,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I feel like I belong to nowhere.&rdquo; The 27-year-old worked on projects for the US embassy in Kabul, where she helped produce education materials that she says cast the Taliban in a bad light. &lsquo;Big dreams&rsquo;&nbsp;When the American-led international force was there, her country began to modernize, giving rights to women that their mothers did not have. &ldquo;I did education, I had a big dreams for my country, for myself,&rdquo; she said from her home outside Los Angeles. But in August 2021, the last US troops hurriedly withdrew from Afghanistan as the Taliban ran riot, taking over the institutions that American taxpayers had spent billions of dollars to prop up. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans scrambled to leave the country, terrified that the Taliban would exact revenge on anyone who had helped the West. &lsquo;No water, food, nothing&rsquo;&ldquo;It was so difficult to get into the airport,&rdquo; said Khan, who describes printing out dozens of documents, including proof that his wife was a US citizen living in California. &ldquo;There was no water, no food, nothing. And we spent four days in there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was too cold during the night.&rdquo; Khan, who worked in a university and at a government bank, finally got a plane to Qatar, then on to Germany before being flown to New Jersey, where he underwent two months of background checks and processing. &ldquo;We truly thank United States. They helped us a lot to come... and rebuild our life here.&rdquo; <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Everything is paused&rsquo;</h2>Khan says he worked day and night in Anaheim, California to save money, often doing two jobs, and now has his own used car dealership. He has also bought a triplex, part of which he rents out to provide a source of income, and secured his green card for permanent US residency. &ldquo;I was about to apply to my citizenship by the end of December, but unfortunately, after the incident in Washington DC, everything is paused,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Everybody is scared, whoever is having like a green card, a parole status, or they have applied for asylum or whatever status they have, all of them are scared. &lsquo;Committed to America&rsquo;&quot;We had a lot of dreams, and now every day everything becomes more difficult, and our dreams are, like, going the other way.&rdquo; For Maryam, who works for an NGO in California&#39;s Orange County, all she wants is to be able to get her green card application back on track, and for her community to be treated fairly. &ldquo;What the person did does not represent us,&rdquo; she said of the shooter in Washington. &ldquo;We are all committed to America; we are not the traitor, we are the survivor.&rdquo;

Americas

In August 2021, the last US troops hurriedly withdrew from Afghanistan as the Taliban ran riot, taking over the institutions that American taxpayers had spent billions of dollars to prop up.

Articles tagged with "Asylum Seekers"

Iranian women's football team member changes mind on asylum in Australia

Five Iran women footballers take asylum in Australia

US Afghans in limbo after Washington soldier attack