Seven members of Iranian women’s soccer team granted visas as rest of squad leaves Australia

By Christina Macfarlane, Ben Church, Hilary Whiteman, CNN

Brisbane (CNN) — Two more members of the Iranian soccer team were granted humanitarian visas in Australia before the rest of the team departed Sydney late Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed Wednesday.

That takes the total number of visas granted to seven – six players and a member of the squad’s support team – who opted not to return to their war-stricken homeland for fear of persecution following their trip to Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup.

Before their opening match against South Korea more than a week ago, the players remained silent during the national anthem, attracting the attention of hardliners back home, including one state media presenter who called them “wartime traitors.”

Australia had been preparing for potential asylum claims before the tournament and conducted security checks to confirm who may qualify for protection, Burke said. The stakes rose considerably after the team’s arrival in Australia, when the US and Israel attacked Iran, triggering a conflict that turned a large swathe of the Middle East into a war zone.

Burke said most members of the Iranian delegation had the opportunity for a private meeting with officials – facilitated by a heavy police presence to separate them from Iranian minders. Not everyone was offered an interview.

“All the players remaining and most of the support people were taken into interview rooms without any minders present, simply themselves and the Department of Home Affairs and an interpreter, and they were given a choice,” Burke said. “In that situation, what we made sure of was there was no rushing, there was no pressure.”

Mehdi Taj, head of the Iranian Football Federation, said the players had been taken “hostage,” with a direct reference to US President Donald Trump, who inserted himself into the controversy on Monday by calling on Canberra to offer the players asylum.

“He tweeted that they should all take asylum, and that if five of them stay, then the rest stay too. Then he threatened Australia that if they don’t give them asylum, he will give them US asylum,” Taj said in a video shared by Iranian state media.

A tumultuous week

The Iranian women’s soccer team was in Australia after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup last week, where it lost all three of its group-stage matches to exit the tournament.

Before their first match on March 2, the Lionesses players stood silent during their national anthem. Sources close to the team told CNN Sports they were then forced under threats to their families to sing the national anthem ahead of their next two group games.

Dissent is harshly punished in Iran, as demonstrated earlier this year when the regime killed thousands of protesters who dared to challenge its rule. The Iranian government blamed most of the killings on “rioters” who were part of what it describes as an organized Israeli-led plot.

Members of the Iranian community in Australia had attended the Lionesses games to express their support. But on Sunday, some ramped up efforts to stop the players’ return to Iran, mobbing the team bus as it returned to the players’ hotel on the Gold Coast, and keeping vigil outside.

Behind closed doors, efforts were made to speak to the women, and five confirmed that they’d take up the offer of refuge in Australia. Sports journalist Raha Pourbakhsh told CNN Sports that the families of three of those five players had been threatened.

The players were joined by two more members of the team on Tuesday, and all seven were reunited at an undisclosed location under the protection of police in Brisbane later that night, according to Burke.

The rest of the team departed Sydney Tuesday for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before an onward journey to Iran. It’s not clear when they’re due to arrive, or their intended route.

Burke said no short-term visas had been granted for the tournament to any members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), hardline enforcers who impose regime orders in Iran. But being granted a temporary visa doesn’t mean “you are a great person,” he added.

“There were some people leaving Australia who I am glad they’re no longer in Australia,” he said.

Concerns for the players’ welfare rose when security tightened around the team, making it almost impossible for outsiders and football organizations – including players’ union FIFPRO – to make contact with them.

Supporters kept vigil outside the team’s hotel on the Gold Coast, Queensland state. An observer outside the players’ hotel on Tuesday told CNN that people had tried to stop the team bus from leaving for Gold Coast Airport, for a scheduled flight to Sydney.

The person at the hotel also said that one of the players looked to be crying as what appeared to be security guards escorted the team onto the bus.

One player, her head bowed, was seen being led to the bus by a teammate by her wrist.

Burke said Australian officials helped facilitate more calls between the players and their families in Sydney, before all of them made the decision to board the flight out of the country.

Burke said he spoke with the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) before the visas were granted, to confirm that players would be able to be protected in Australia.

“Processing will soon start for them to move to what’s called a resolution of status, which is a permanent visa,” said Burke.

“I have no intention, after everything that these individuals have gone through, for them to have to fight through the courts for permanent status in Australia.”

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CNN’s Michael Rios and Patrick Sung contributed reporting.