Iran football team returns home after week-long journey, two players remain in Australia
· Yahoo Sports
The majority of the Iranian women’s football team have returned home after a week-long journey back from the Asian Cup, crossing into the country from Turkey by road.
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Seven members of the travelling party — six players and one member of support staff — had initially decided to claim humanitarian asylum in Australia last week after escaping the team hotel in dramatic circumstances. They were initially protected in safe houses by the Australian police.
Humanitarian visas give the individuals the right to live, work, and study in Australia.
However over the following days, five of the team changed their mind and opted to return to Iran, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari.
Two players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, are still in Australia and were pictured on Monday training with A-League club Brisbane Roar.
“Everything will be fine,” Pasandideh subsequently posted on Instagram.
Iran’s players were faced with an intensely difficult decision during the Asian Cup with threats to their safety on both sides. The regime had been angered by the team’s decision to not sing the national anthem for their game against South Korea, labelling them “wartime traitors” on state television, with presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi saying the team should be dealt with “severely”. Returning to Iran would also see the players return to an active war zone, with United States and Israeli strikes continuing.
Remaining in Australia, however, could also see the individuals’ families face potential risks. The Athleticreported last week how players in the squad had been chaperoned by officials with links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ordered to leave large financial guarantees in Iran, banned from leaving the team hotel, and seen their mobile phones tapped.
Subsequently, sources with direct knowledge of events, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivities of the situation, say the players who chose to claim asylum came under intense pressure from the Iranian government, including having family members detained.
“Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them,” said the country’s immigration minister Tony Burke.
“While the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions.”
Meanwhile, IRGC-affiliated news agency Tasnim stated that players had faced “psychological warfare, extensive propaganda and seductive offers” while playing in Australia.
The five squad members who opted to reject their humanitarian visas joined up with their teammates in Malaysia, where the Iranian party had flown from Australia last Tuesday. The squad then flew to Turkey via Oman before crossing the border into western Iran by road on Wednesday afternoon.
The Iran FA have been contacted for comment.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Australia, Iran, Soccer, International Football, Women's Soccer
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