SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) – Two more players from the Iranian women’s soccer team sought asylum in Australia, local media reported, after five players were granted humanitarian visas on Tuesday over safety concerns on their return home for not singing the national anthem.
One player may have refused to board a flight at Sydney airport at the last minute on Tuesday night, national broadcaster ABC News said in a report, citing unidentified sources. The remaining players have left Australia for Iran.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Soccer fans and governing agencies started expressing concerns about the welfare of the team after they were labelled “wartime traitors” on Iranian state television for refusing to sing their national anthem at an Asia Cup match.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Australia-hosted 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.
The Iranian players boarded a flight to Sydney from the northeastern city of Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon before flying back home.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for allowing the women to stay, saying on social media the United States was ready to take the players if Australia did not.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments