National News
Another Iranian Footballer Left Australia Despite Initial Asylum Offer
Minister Tony Burke confirms another member of Iran’s women’s football team left Australia late Sunday night, despite said member initially having accepted an asylum offer.
Australia initially granted asylum to seven members of the party, including one from the support staff, last week while they were in the country for the Asian Cup. But Burke said on Sunday, after three of the women decided to return to Iran, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options after telling Australian officials they had made this decision. On Monday morning, government minister Catherine King also told ABC radio that “both Tony Burke and Australia can be really proud” to have offered the women “genuine choices”.
According to Burke, while the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, they cannot remove the context in which the players are making these ‘incredibly difficult decisions’.