KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Iranian women’s soccer team is scheduled to depart Malaysia on Monday night, concluding several days of uncertainty after the majority of the seven squad members who ignited a diplomatic controversy by seeking asylum in Australia reversed their choices and rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur.
The general secretary of the Asian Football Confederation, Windsor John, informed The Associated Press that the team’s departure on Monday night was organized by the Iranian embassy. He mentioned that the AFC, which is providing support to the Iranian team in Kuala Lumpur, was informed they are traveling to Oman, although that is not their ultimate destination. He stated he was not privy to their complete travel itinerary.
When asked if the confederation is assured of the women’s safety upon their return to Iran, Windsor noted that both the AFC and FIFA will regularly check on them in collaboration with the Iranian football federation “as they are our girls as well.”
The squad arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Sydney on March 10 after being eliminated from the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, initially leaving behind six players and a support staff member who had accepted protection visas.
Four players and the staff member have since rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur, with the latest arrival on Monday. No explanations have been provided for the change of heart. The Iranian community in Australia attributes this to pressure from Tehran.
Windsor stated at a news conference earlier that his confederation had not received any direct complaints from players regarding their return home, despite media reports suggesting their families in Iran could face repercussions for the team’s failure to sing the national anthem before the opening match.
The silence during the anthem has been interpreted variously as an act of defiance or a sign of mourning. The team did not clarify the situation and performed the anthem at the start of a subsequent match.
“We couldn’t verify anything. We asked them and they said, ‘No, it’s ok,'” he remarked. “They are actually in high spirits… they didn’t appear afraid.”
Two players remain in Australia, and Iranian authorities have welcomed the women’s decisions to decline asylum as a triumph against Australia and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Iranian squad had arrived in Australia for the tournament shortly before the conflict in the Middle East commenced on February 28, complicating travel logistics.
Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite characterized the women’s situation in Australia as a “very complex situation.”
“These are deeply personal decisions, and the government respects the choices of those who have opted to return. We continue to offer support to the two who are remaining,” Thistlethwaite stated.
Those who stayed in Australia have been relocated to a secure, undisclosed location and are receiving assistance from the government and the Iranian diaspora community, he added.
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a political scientist at Macquarie University in Sydney who spent over two years in Iranian prisons on espionage charges from 2018 to 2020, remarked that “winning the propaganda war” has overshadowed the welfare of the women.
“The high stakes prompted the Iranian regime to take notice and attempt to exert pressure in response, in my view,” Moore-Gilbert commented.
“I believe that had these women quietly sought asylum without the surrounding publicity, it is possible that the officials of the Islamic Republic might have, as they have in previous cases involving other Iranian athletes who defected, simply allowed that to occur,” she added.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the players who left Australia were “returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland,” labeling their return as a failure of what it termed an American-Australian political initiative.
Concerns regarding the team’s safety in Iran intensified when the players refrained from singing the Iranian national anthem.
The Australian government was urged to assist the women by Iranian groups in Australia and by Trump.
The embassy in the national capital, Canberra, remains staffed, despite the Australian government expelling the ambassador last year.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese severed diplomatic relations with Iran in August after announcing that intelligence officials had determined that the Revolutionary Guard had orchestrated arson attacks on a Sydney kosher food company and Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in 2024.
Kambiz Razmara, vice president of the Australian-Iranian Society of Victoria, stated that the women who accepted asylum had been under pressure from the Tehran regime.
“They’ve had to make decisions on the spur of the moment with very little information and have had to respond to the circumstances,” Razmara noted. “I’m surprised that they’ve chosen to leave, but I also understand the pressures they are facing.”
