Two More Iranian Football Team Members Granted Asylum In Australia

SYDNEY, March 11 (Bernama-dpa) -- Another Iranian football player and a member of the women's national team delegation were granted asylum in Australia after the team's exit from the Asian Cup, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday, reported German news agency dpa.

The two have joined five members of the Iranian women's football team who had already received humanitarian visas in Australia before the team was due to return home. The rest of the delegation has since left Sydney and is on its way back to Iran.

Burke had informed the five players on Tuesday at a confidential location in Brisbane that the Australian government would grant them humanitarian visas. In a shared photograph, the women appeared alongside the minister without headscarves.

Burke said on Wednesday that all but a few members of the team had been offered asylum as they prepared to leave Australia. Australian officials took the players and support staff into a room, without any minders present, to extend them a similar offer, he added.

"What we made sure of was there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice," Burke said. 

It had initially been unclear whether the entire delegation had boarded the plane in Sydney. The team had arrived in Australia shortly before the outbreak of the war in Iran.

The five players had sought protection during the Asian Cup on the Gold Coast and left the team hotel under police escort after coming under criticism in Iran over a silent protest. 

During the team's first group match, the players remained silent while the national anthem was played.

In Iran, the gesture was widely interpreted as a sign of protest against the country's leadership, raising fears the players could face severe consequences if they returned home.

--BERNAMA-dpa