Three more footballers from the Iran women’s team have changed their minds and decided to leave Australia after initially being granted asylum.
Iranian state media has gloated over their decision, describing it as a victory against “psychological warfare”, but there are mounting reports that the team has faced huge pressure from the authorities back home.
The team drew international attention when they refused to sing the Iranian national anthem during an AFC Women’s Asian Cup tournament match on 2 March, just days after US-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
There had been concerns that the players or their families could face harm back in Tehran over the apparent display of defiance, and the Australian government offered them all individually the chance to apply for asylum with the tournament hosts.
Seven players and staff members ended up accepting, before one quickly withdrew her application and left the country. It has been reported that Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, the member of the team’s technical staff who first changed her mind, had been passing messages from the Iranian football authorities to players in an attempt to persuade them to abandon asylum plans.
The three footballers who have joined her in changing her mind were identified as Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, Mona Hamoudi and Zahra Sarbali.
Iran’s state-run Tasnim News Agency said the three players were “returning to the warm embrace of their families and homeland after withdrawing their asylum application in Australia”.
Australia’s home affairs minister Tony Burke said that the government had done everything in its power to ensure the women’s safety and give them a real chance at a freer future in the country.
“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,” Mr Burke said in a statement.
“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.”
Tasnim claimed the players had resisted “psychological warfare, extensive propaganda and seductive offers”.
“The national spirit and patriotism of the Iranian women’s national football team defeated the enemy’s plans against this team,” a statement said, while also accusing Australia’s government of “playing in Trump’s field”.
It means that only three of the original seven players and staff remain as defectors in Australia.
Iranian International reported that the rest of the squad were in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and being kept under tight supervision, with journalists and outside visitors barred from entering.
Several players have had their mobile phones confiscated and those who were allowed to keep them could only do so under the supervision of security personnel linked to the Iranian Football Federation.
A total of 26 Iranian players and support staff flew to Australia for the tournament.
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