The captain of Iran’s women’s soccer team that played in the Asian Cup in Australia has withdrawn her asylum request, state media said Sunday, making her the fifth member of the delegation to change her mind.
A former player with a Persian-language television station based outside Iran said the players have been pressured to change their position through threats against their families. But Iranian leaders have also condemned Australia to pressure players to stay.
Captain Zahra Ghanbari, the national team’s top scorer and striker, has withdrawn her asylum request and will now travel from Australia to Malaysia and from there return to Iran, state news agency IRNA said.
Three players and one backroom staff member had already, in the previous days, withdrawn their asylum bids and traveled away. Malaysia.
Seven members of Iran’s football delegation participating in the Asian Women’s Cup sought asylum in Australia after called “traitors” at home for refusing to sing the national anthem.
The game of football has emerged against the state of war in the country Middle East unleashed by US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran, which also followed protests against the clerical system that culminated in January.
