Overview
- Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said three more team members who had accepted humanitarian visas chose to leave Australia, leaving three of the original seven still in the country.
- Seven delegation members — six players and one staffer — sought protection after several players stayed silent for the anthem and were branded “wartime traitors” on Iranian state television.
- Australian authorities moved the group to safe locations, and officials say the first woman to reverse course contacted Iran’s embassy and exposed a safe-house, forcing relocations.
- Iran’s football federation and state media have accused Australia of coercion and hailed the returning members, while rights groups warn of pressure on athletes through threats to families and property.
- Footage from Kuala Lumpur showed a player saying officials promised “rewards” and good treatment on return, and coach Marziyeh Jafari said hostile TV commentary had psychologically affected the squad.