Australia grants asylum to 5 players from the Iranian women's national football team
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke announced that 5 players from the Iranian women's national football team, who were in the country for Asian Cup qualifiers, have been granted asylum in Australia.
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A new statement has come from Australia regarding the players of the Iranian women's national football team who were in the country for Asian Cup qualifiers. Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke announced that some players from the team have been granted the right to asylum in Australia. Stating that the 5 players had fled their team hotel in Australia's Gold Coast region to hide in a safe location and had submitted their asylum requests to the Australian government, Burke said, "They were taken to a safe place by the Australian police. I approved their humanitarian visa applications last night. We welcome them to stay in Australia. They are safe here and should feel at home."
They had been declared traitors
The Iranian national football team players had been declared "traitors" by Iranian state television for not singing the national anthem before their match against South Korea on March 2. Three days later, the team sang the national anthem and saluted before their second match against Australia. The team was later eliminated from the tournament after losing 2-0 to the Philippines. There had been pressure from the international community on the Australian government not to send the team back to Iran, due to concerns that they would face mistreatment upon their return. Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite had previously stated that the government "cannot go into individual cases for privacy reasons" when asked whether the team players would be granted asylum.
Trump had called on Australia
US President Donald Trump had also called on Australia to grant asylum to the Iranian women's national football team. Stating that he had discussed the matter with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Trump said, "He is also looking into this matter. The situation of five people has been handled, and the rest are on their way. However, some think they need to return because they are worried about the safety of their families. In any case, the prime minister is doing a very good job with this very sensitive situation."