Australia shelters 7 Iranian women's soccer team members, but 1 wants to go back

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Australia shelters 7 Iranian women’s soccer team members, but 1 wants to go back Australia says it's given asylum to seven members of the Iranian national women's soccer team, but one has asked to return to Iran. World Australia shelters 7 Iranian women's soccer team members, but 1 wants to go back March 11, 20265:02 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Kristina Kukolja Australia shelters 7 Iranian women’s soccer team members, but 1 wants to go back Listen &middot; 2:37 2:37 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5744071/nx-s1-9684391" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Australia says it's given asylum to seven members of the Iranian national women's soccer team, but one has asked to return to Iran. Sponsor Message SCOTT DETROW, HOST: Now to Iran's national women's soccer team. Australia says it has given asylum to seven members of the squad, but one has asked to return to Iran. The asylum seekers are being held at an undisclosed location. Kristina Kukolja reports from Melbourne.

+ (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SARA DIDAR: (Speaking Farsi). KRISTINA KUKOLJA: A world away from war, Iranian soccer player Sara Didar told reporters at the Women's Asian Cup in Australia her team is worried about what had happened to Iran and their families. When it came time to leave the tournament, protesters blocked the bus carrying the team away from their hotel on the Gold Coast. UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Save our girls. Save our girls. KUKOLJA: Missing were five players granted asylum by Australia on Monday evening after secret talks with government officials. Two more women, a player and a member of the support staff, sought asylum a day later. However, the government says one has since changed her mind. Minoo Toussi is from a group known as the Australian Iranian Patriots Association, which advocates for the Iranian asylum seekers. She was at Sydney Airport when the rest of the squad flew out without them. MINOO TOUSSI: When we were actually waiting for the airplane, one of the girls' mum call from Iran, and she said, please ask her to stay. I don't want her to come back here. Her life is going to be in danger. KUKOLJA: Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the remaining delegation was given a final chance to claim asylum when they were separated at airport customs and interviewed by officials. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) TONY BURKE: What we made sure of was there was no rushing. There was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice. KUKOLJA: But Burke says visas weren't offered to several staff members suspected of having links to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which is listed as the state sponsor of terrorism in Australia. Concerns over the team's safety first emerged after they were branded traitors on Iranian state television for not singing the national anthem before their first Asian Cup match. It prompted President Trump to call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to grant them asylum, saying on Truth Social, quote, "the U.S. will take them if you won't." Minoo Toussi says those that stayed in Australia are worried about their loved ones in Iran. TOUSSI: They're asking if the Australia government can help their family because I heard that the family in Iran, they've been threatened because they didn't come back. KUKOLJA: On X, Iran's foreign ministry accused Australia of taking the players hostage, saying the country awaits them with open arms. Australia has not responded to the accusation. For NPR News, I'm Kristina Kukolja in Melbourne. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();