Iranian women’s football team arrive home after some withdrew asylum claim
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Members of the Iranian women's football team arriving by bus at Turkey's Gurbulak border crossing with Iran, on March 18.
PHOTO: AFP
- Iranian women's soccer team returned to Iran after five members withdrew Australian asylum claims, fearing persecution.
- Players were labelled "wartime traitors" by Iranian state TV after a US and Israel strike on Iran.
- Two players remain in Australia, training with an A-League club, while the rest returned to Iran.
AI generated
GURBULAK, Turkey - The Iranian women’s football team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on March 18 to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.
Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran.
Concerns over their safety surfaced when several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran.
Iranian state television had labelled them “wartime traitors”.
The team, which flew into Istanbul on March 17, took a flight to Igdir in eastern Turkey on the morning of March 18.
The players emerged from Igdir Airport pulling their luggage and chatted in front of the terminal before boarding a bus to the border. One of them briefly smiled and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed.
After a trip of around two hours to the frontier, they went through passport control at the Gurbulak border gate before crossing over into Iran.
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They were eliminated from the tournament more than a week ago.
Five of those who had sought asylum in Australia subsequently changed their minds and decided to return home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on March 16.
They rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) said last week those who had changed their minds would travel home with the rest of the team “to once again be embraced by their families and homeland.”
Two players are still in Australia and have been pictured training with a local A-League club. REUTERS
