Three members of Iranian women’s football team pull Australia asylum bids

Seven members of the Iranian football delegation sought asylum, with four now known to have withdrawn applications.Published On 14 Mar 2026Two more Iranian female footballers and a member of their support staff have reportedly withdrawn requests for asylum in Australia, which were granted over fears they might be punished upon their return home after the team refused to sing Iran’s national anthem at the Asian Cup tournament.Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported on Saturday that the three had “given up on their asylum application in Australia and are currently heading to Malaysia”, posting a picture of the women allegedly boarding a plane.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Crowd chants ‘save our girls’ at bus carrying Iran women’s teamlist 2 of 3Iran women’s football team sing anthem, exit Asian Cup amid safety concernslist 3 of 3FIFA, AFC urged to protect Iran women footballers after ‘traitors’ threatend of listThe news was confirmed on Sunday morning in a statement from Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.“Overnight, three members of the Iranian women’s football team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran,” Burke said.“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options.”The Iranian team has been in Australia to participate in a football tournament held in the Gold Coast Stadium in Queensland, when the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.The initial attack killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders.Overall, an estimated 1,444 Iranians have been killed since the war began, including more than 170 people, mostly schoolgirls, who were inside a primary school in the city of Minab.After refusing to sing the Iranian national anthem at their first match, players on the Iranian women’s football team were branded “traitors” by an IRIB presenter.