As a result of regime threats to their families back in Iran, just two of seven Iranian women’s soccer team members granted asylum in Australia, remain in Australia

Another Iranian soccer player has dropped her asylum bid with the Australian government after several members of the team decided they would return to Iran over the weekend.  Seven members of the delegation, including a staff member, received humanitarian visas from the Australian government last week after opting not to travel back to Iran.

Members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were seen arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on Monday, ahead of their return to Iran – which comes as a fifth member of the team has withdrawn her request for asylum in Australia and decided to return home to Iran. Shiva Amini, an exiled Iranian former soccer player, claimed the players chose to go home following “intense and systemic pressure on the players’ families” from Iran’s Football Federation. “Several of the players decided to go back because the threats against their families became unbearable and the intimidation was relentless,” she wrote on X on Sunday.

SKY NEWSThe team had refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before the opening match of the Asian Cup and were branded wartime traitors back in Iran, prompting fears for their safety should they return.

Iranian state media has since reported Iran’s captain Zahra Ghanbari will return to the Middle East. This means just two of the original seven Iranians still seek to remain in Australia.

Reports have suggested the “safehouse” the women were placed in was compromised, while human rights advocates fear the teammates were intimidated with threats against their loved ones still in Iran. The Australian has reported a member of the delegation was a mole who remained in Australia had operated on behalf of the Iranian regime to convince women to return.

On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed four of those who intended to remain in Australia had chosen to return to Iran instead.  “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,” he said.

“The Australian government has done everything it could to make sure these women were provided with the chance for a safe future in Australia.” The Iranian government, in a statement provided to the IRGC-aligned Tasnim News Agency, claimed the women who reversed course had thwarted “the enemy’s plans”. The women’s apparent changes of heart have sparked fears they were threatened with retaliation against their loved ones in Iran.

Iran’s female soccer team had arrived to Australia to play in the Asian Cup tournament, which commenced on March 1.   The football team bravely refused to sing the Iranian national anthem, which was written in 1989 to reflect the ideals of the Islamic revolution and the Republic, ahead of its first game against South Korea.  Back in Iran, state media branded the Lionesses wartime “traitors”.

Iranian-Australians wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke urging him to ensure the players were aware of their protection pathways in Australia. The letter highlighted the retribution the women could face as a result of their act of protest and distinguished them from ordinary visiting athletes.

Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad told Sky News on Sunday the withdrawal of their asylum requests was a sign the women had been threatened by the Iranian regime.“If this report is true, it almost certainly means their families are under threat, maybe even detained. That is how the Islamic Republic operates,” she said of the three women’s decisions to return.

Ms Alinejad said the strategy had been adopted against her in the past, pointing to the imprisonment her brother during her own activism. “I know the playbook. They used it on me. They threw my brother in prison for two years to try to silence me,” she said.