Australian police helped two more members of the Iranian women's football delegation slip their minders to claim asylum, but one has changed her mind and decided to go back to Iran, the country's interior minister said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026). Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament the squad member's decision to return home, after five players from the team were granted asylum a day earlier.
A player and a support staff member accepted the government's open offer of aid on Tuesday evening (March 10).
"One of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who had left, and had changed her mind," Burke told parliament.
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"In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel. And so, we respect the context in which she has made that decision."
