02 More Iranian Football Team Member Accepts Australian Asylum.

Canberra; March 2026: Two more members of the Iranian Women’s Soccer Team have accepted Australian Asylum, after changing their mind in returning to their motherland. One member however has returned back to Iran, the country’s interior minister said on Wednesday. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament the squad member’s decision to return home, after five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier.

The two additional members of the delegation – 21 years old striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staffer Zahra Soltan Moshkehkar, were removed from the rest of the team with the aid of Australian Federal Police before they boarded a domestic flight to Sydney. “One of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who ​had left, and had changed her mind”, Burke told parliament. “In Australia, people are able to change their mind, ⁠people are able to travel. And so, we respect the context in which she has made that decision”. It was not immediately clear who ​had decided to return to Iran. Burke said the rest of the players have been moved to a safe location after the member contacted the ​Iranian embassy, giving away their location.

Concerns about the players’ safety grew after Iranian state television labelled the team “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing the national anthem during the women’s Asian Cup match in Australia earlier this month.

Before leaving ​the country, Australian officials separated the remaining team from the other Iranian members at Sydney airport and informed them of their options before they flew out of ‌Australia. All ⁠those that made it to the airport elected to return to Iran. “What we made sure of was that there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice”, Burke said during a media briefing in Canberra.

Burke has further reiterated that some players had asked him about the possibility of aiding their family members leave Iran. “Obviously, when people are permanent residents, there ​are rights that they have in ​terms of sponsoring other family ⁠members. But all of it only becomes relevant if people can get out of Iran in the first place”.

Some discussed their options with family but declined the offer to remain in Australia. The ​team has since reached Kuala Lumpur on their way to Iran. The Iranian team’s campaign in the tournament ​started just as ⁠the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament on Sunday.

A group of Iranians living in Australia gathered to protest against the Iranian government and surrounded the players’ bus in Gold Coast when they left the ⁠hotel for ​the airport. Many also turned up at the Sydney airport on Tuesday evening while they ​were being transferred to the international terminal, television footage showed. The office of Iran’s general prosecutor said on Tuesday the remaining members of the team were invited back to the ​country “with peace and confidence”, Iranian media reported.

Team Maverick.