Iranian soccer team member refuses asylum offerReuters, SYDNEYAustralian police helped two more members of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation slip their minders to claim asylum, but one has changed her mind and decided to go back to Iran, the Australian interior minister said yesterday. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke announced in the Australian parliament the squad member’s decision to return home, after five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier. A player and a support staff member on Tuesday evening accepted the Australian government’s open offer of aid. Six Iranian soccer players and a team official with two unidentified Australian officials, second and third right, are pictured in Sydney after they claimed asylum in Australia in an undated photo released by the Australian Department of Home Affairs yesterday. The rest of the players have been moved to a safe location after the member contacted the Iranian embassy, giving away their location, Burke said.

Source: Taipei Times March 11, 2026 16:06 UTC