Iranian women's football squad member changes mind on Australia asylum offer, to return home

An Iranian women's football player decides to return home after initially seeking asylum in Australia, amid safety concerns.

Australian police helped two more members of the Iranian ‌women's football delegation slip their minders to claim asylum, but one has changed ​her mind and decided to go back to Iran, the country's interior minister ⁠said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026). Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in 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 accepted ‌the government's open offer of aid on Tuesday evening (March 10).

"One of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates ‌who had left, and had changed her mind," Burke told parliament.

"In Australia, people are able ‌to ⁠change their mind, people are able to travel. And so, we respect the context ⁠in which she has made that decision."

It was not immediately clear who had decided to return to Iran.

Mr. Burke said the rest of the players have been moved to a safe location after the member contacted the Iranian embassy, giving away ​their location. Concerns about the players' safety ‌grew after Iranian state television labelled the team "wartime traitors" for refusing to sing the national anthem during the women's Asian Cup match in Australia earlier this month.