3 Iranian soccer players returning from Australian asylum, ex-player says
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According to Tina Kordrostami, council member of the Australian city of Ryde, three of the six Iranian women football players who received asylum in Australia are returning to Iran.
Kordrostami told Fox News Channel’s “Fox Report With Jon Scott” on Saturday that three players were returning, calling it a “sad update” but couldn’t discuss the exact reasons why.
“They are heavily intimidated and contacted directly by the regime,” Kordrostami said. he said.
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Iranian players react during their national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup football match against the Philippines on March 8, 2026 in Robina, Australia. (Dave Hunt/AAP Image via AP)
When asked if the players were threatened, Kordrostami said: “I don’t think about it, I know that.
“I even know that families have been detained. I also know that family members are missing. What I really want people in the West to understand is that Iranians inside the country have in many ways given up on the West and are relying solely on each other to survive in this regime.”
“So when we offer them a way out, it’s often not that easy for them to understand that it’s actually a way out. They’re more used to trusting each other, and that means survival for them.”
Kordrostami added that returning women face potentially serious consequences.
“We are very worried about them. We know they will not be safe. I have mentioned this before. As an athlete in Iran, if you break the contract you can face the death penalty. So I know these women are young. I know they made an incredibly difficult decision and I have great respect for them,” he said.
“Pressure and intimidation tactics are used here. There was even one person among the girls in Sydney and Brisbane who was constantly penetrating their ears, letting them know that everything Australia had to offer them would not work.
The team arrived in Australia before Israel and USA launches joint attack against Iran on February 28. The attacks led to the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
IRAN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM REFUSED TO SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM IN A QUIET PROTEST AT THE ASIAN CUP
Iranian players They refused to sing their national anthem Before the first defeat against South Korea on March 2, which was seen by some as an act of resistance that one Iranian commentator described as “the height of dishonor”.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced at a press conference on Tuesday that another Iranian female football player and a team employee were involved in the incident. asylum accepted In Australia, there were fears of punishment when five players returned to Iran after they accepted asylum on Sunday.
Almost all of them, Burke added: Iranian players and most of the support staff were pulled aside one by one as they passed through Australian Customs at an airport before boarding a flight back to Iran.
And each was given the opportunity to accept an offer of asylum without Iranian government officials, but other players or staff accepted the offer to stay.
Asylum offers came Increasing pressure from President Donald Trump and Iranian groups in Australia.
“Australia is doing something A terrible human error in allowing The Iranian National Women’s Football team will be sent back to Iran where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, grant the right to asylum. “If you don’t, the USA will take them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump later wrote: “I just spoke to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Iran National Women’s Football Team.
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Iranian players sing their national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup football match against the Philippines on March 8, 2026 in Robina, Australia. (Dave Hunt/AAPImage via AP)
“There! Five people have already been dealt with and the rest are on the way. But some feel they must return because they fear for the safety of their families, including threats to family members if they do not return. In any case, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job dealing with this highly sensitive situation. God bless Australia!”
Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari was quoted as saying in a statement to Australia’s national news agency that the team wanted “to return to Iran as soon as possible.”
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