A player on the Iranian women's football team, who had initially requested asylum in Australia, has finally decided to withdraw.
On Monday, Australia granted asylum to six players and a staff member of the Iranian team after they refused to sing the national anthem during an Asian Cup match against South Korea in Sydney, at the beginning of March. This gesture was interpreted as an act of rebellion.
A total of 26 members of the Iranian delegation arrived in Australia days before the start of US-Israeli strikes in the region.
But this Wednesday, the Australian Minister of the Interior announced that a player, whose identity has not been revealed, had finally decided to contact the Iranian embassy. A decision that the Australian authorities claim to respect.
The rest of the team and staff left Sydney on Tuesday evening bound for Kuala Lumpur, in an atmosphere described as very emotional. The delegation arrived in Malaysia early Wednesday morning.
After their initial refusal to sing the national anthem, the players finally sang the anthem in their subsequent matches against Australia and the Philippines.
The seven team members who had applied for asylum received temporary humanitarian visas, which could pave the way for them to permanent residence in Australia.
Separately, Australians of Iranian origin tried to prevent the players from leaving the country, citing concerns about their safety if they returned to Iran.
