A member of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation has reneged on her decision to accept asylum in Australia, and in doing so, allegedly leaked the location of defecting Iranian players to the besieged country’s embassy in Sydney.
Those players have now been moved to a safe location, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told parliament on Wednesday.
Burke’s comments came amid fallout from Team Iran’s refusal to sing the country’s national anthem at an Asian Cup match along the Gold Coast earlier this month. That controversial protest prompted Iranian state television to label players ‘wartime traitors,’ raising concern for their safety in their native country as Iran faces joint US-Israeli military attacks.
Given those safety concerns, Australia extended asylum offers to Iranian players, five of whom accepted on Monday rather than fly back to Iran with teammates.
A day later, Burke told parliament that 21-year-old striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staffer Zahra Soltan Moshkehkar had also accepted the government’s offer of asylum. But without specifying whether it was Zolfi or Moshkehkar who had second thoughts, Burke has since revealed one of the two changed their mind and called the Iranian embassy ‘to get collected.’
That call led Iranian handlers to learn where the defectors were staying, prompting Australian officials to quickly relocate the asylum seekers.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke poses with Iranian women’s soccer team support worker Zahra Soltan Meshkeh Kar and team player Mohaddeseh Zolfi, who were granted asylum on Tuesday. Since then, one of the two women changed her mind, according to Burke
Iran players pose for a team photo ahead of the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia
Burke poses in an undisclosed location with five Iranian women soccer players who have been granted asylum in Australia. The women were moved after their location was leaked
‘I immediately gave the instruction for people to be moved, and that’s been dealt with immediately,’ Burke said.
Burke also stressed that the person who decided to return to Iran was given every opportunity to remain in Australia: ‘This was her decision, and every question you would want asked, was asked.’
As for the women who are staying, Burke said they will be fast-tracked to permanent residency.
Burke has identified five players as having been granted asylum: Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
‘They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,’ Burke said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed their situation on Tuesday, calling the five players ‘brave women’ and promising ‘they’re safe here and they should feel at home here.’
