Three more Iranian women’s football squad members decided on Sunday to return to Iran after being granted asylum in Australia.
The trio left Australia, leaving behind teammates who sought asylum after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup. The Iranian team members faced pressures from some elements to seek asylum amid the US-Israeli aggression.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said on Sunday morning the trio had decided to join the rest of the team in Iran, after being issued special visas to stay in Australia.
The decision means just three of the seven squad members who had sought asylum will remain.
Players Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and a team support staff member reportedly left Australia on Saturday night for Kuala Lumpur where they met up with other team members who are returning to Tehran.
They displayed a poor performance during the Asian Cup and were eliminated after three defeats in te death group because the competitions coincided with the start of the US-Israeli aggression on their country.
The Iranian team had entered the tournament with a lot of enthusiasm but even prior to that the girls came under huge pressures to betray their country and seek asylum.
This is while FIFA AFC was expected to provide a peaceful environment for the Iranian squad to help them show a good performance that they are capable of, but since the first match they went under propaganda of the opposition groups stationed in Australia.
While Australia, the host of the matches was expected to help the Iranian girls in the difficult days after the launch of the US-Israeli aggression, by contrast it did all it could to assist the ill wishing Iranian opposition to approach the Iranian squad members to force them into applying for asylum.
Despite all the pressures, which were cooardinated by the Australia and US governments, most number of the team members decided to return to continue the rest of their lives in their homeland and reject the visas offered to them.
The Asian Cup showed that the FIFA authorities discriminate against players from independent nations like Islamic Republic of Iran in line with Western pressures.
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