An incredible offer has been made to the Iranian football players who have been allowed to stay in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has issued humanitarian visas to two more members of the Iranian soccer team: Mohaddeseh Zolfi and Zahra Soltan Meshkeh Kar.
The striker for the Lionesses and member of the team’s support staff, respectively, were pictured overnight with the other five players who have sought protection.
Brisbane Roar FC has offered members of the team who are now in Queensland a place “to train, play, and belong”.
“No politics. No conditions. Just football, community, and a warm welcome. Queensland is your home now,’’ the team said in a social media post.
The offer comes as the players navigate life in Australia following the government’s offer of humanitarian visas.
Mr Burke confirmed every team member leaving Sydney airport was offered a private opportunity to accept Australia’s offer.
“With the assistance of the Australian Federal Police, they were separated from the rest of the group and taken to a safe location,’’ he said.
“With the exception of a small number of people, where we had made the decision that we did not want to make a direct offer, all the players remaining and most of the support people were taken into interview rooms.
“They were given a choice in that situation. 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.”
After the plane had departed, Mr Burke said he spoke with officials to acknowledge their role in giving the delegation a choice.
“They were emotional meetings. They were emotional meetings for them and for the people from Home Affairs and Border Force who were meeting with them, I can’t begin to imagine what people have been weighing up,’’ he said.
“I reminded them that they should still be very proud of who we are as a country and their role as the face of Australia when people were being offered a choice.
“These individuals were meeting a government that said, the choice is up to you, and here is the opportunity if you want to take it, but the choice and the dignity of that decision is yours as Australians, we should be proud that we’re that sort of country.”
For the seven members who accepted the offer, Mr Burke said, “they are now on humanitarian visas, and the processing will soon start for them to move to what’s called a resolution of status, which is a permanent visa.”
“I had no intention, after everything that these individuals have gone through, for them to have to fight through the courts for permanent status in Australia,’’ he said.
“For everybody who was given that choice, I’m really glad we did that, and for the seven people who took up that offer, we as a nation, are lucky that you chose us, and I think they are only just beginning to realise just how welcome they are here in Australia.”
Seven members opted to stay
This morning Mr Burke confirmed seven members of the Iranian women’s soccer team – a group of 6 players and 1 support people have now opted to stay in Australia.
As reported by news.com.au overnight, two more team members have now been granted humanitarian visas joining 5 team members who were granted visas on Monday night.
The new visa holders are a player and a support person working with the team.
“Two members of the group that’s part of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation, had indicated that they wanted to take up an offer from Australia,” Mr Burke said.
“One was a player, one was a support person with the assistance of the Australian Federal Police, they were separated from the rest of the group and taken to a safe location.
“They then met with me at the Australian Federal Police location, which is attached to Brisbane Airport.
“When I met with them, I made them the same offer that I had made the five players the night before, and that was that if they wanted to receive a humanitarian visa for Australia, which would have a pathway to a permanent visa,
“I would have the paperwork ready to execute that immediately. They both said that they did. I signed off on that.”
Mr Burke said all of the remaining team – excluding some members linked to Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards – were all told if they wanted to stay, they could as they passed through immigration checks at Sydney airport.
He praised the work of border force officials who spoke to the women, some of whom asked to speak to family back home but ultimately made the decision to get on the plane and go home to Iran.
Mr Burke said the protest of the women who refused to sing the national anthem had reverberated internationally.
“When those players were silent …that silence was heard as a roar all around the world,’’ Mr Burke said.
“The world wanted to know and Australians wanted to know how we would respond. We responded by saying the invitation is there in Australia, you can be safe.”
Dramatic scenes
More Iranian football players have staged a great escape from their Islamic Republic of Iran minders and will remain in Australia.
News.com.au has confirmed that the number of female football players seeking asylum has now risen past five with at least two more players joining the group and remaining in Australia.
The new athletes who have sought protection remain in Brisbane and did not travel to Sydney airport.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who travelled to Sydney in case more women wanted to claim asylum, confirmed the increased numbers.
He insisted that every player has been taken aside at Sydney airport and asked if they wanted to apply for protection.
“Australia was invested in making sure…that everyone had a choice,” he said.
He also confirmed that the number of asylum seekers had risen and he would announce further details on Wednesday morning.
The dramatic development sheds new light on the moment striker Afsaneh Chatrenoor was filmed being firmly led by squad member and friend Shabnam Beheshti onto the waiting buses in Queensland.
All of the women on board the bus did however check in to the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Burke has revealed the original five Iranian women chanted “Aussie Aussie Aussie” after being granted humanitarian visas.
Zahra Ghanbari, captain of the Iranian women’s national football team for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, along with Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi, made a dramatic escape from the team’s hotel on Monday
Zahra Ghanbari (middle, top left), Fatemeh Pasandideh (top right), Zahra Sarbali (bottom left), Mona Hamoudi (bottom right).
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah of Iran, confirmed the women had escaped on Tuesday night on social media.
“These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran’s Lion and Sun Revolution,” he wrote.
Zahra Ghanbari, who has served as the team’s captain, emerged as a central figure in recent controversies regarding women’s rights in Iran.
She was briefly suspended in late 2024 and forced to apologise after her headscarf slipped off during a last-minute goal celebration in an AFC Women’s Champions League match for her club, Bam Khatoon FC.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Burke said the women were not activists, but athletes who simply wanted to be safe.
He revealed he had been on the ground in Queensland to speak to the women since Sunday night.
“In the very hours of yesterday morning, the conversation started in earnest,’’ he said.
“During the course of yesterday, it was made clear there were five women who wanted to stay in Australia.
“They were moved to a safe location by the Australian Federal Police, and last night, I met with them at that location. I signed off last night for their applications to go onto Humanitarian Visas, and a little bit after 1:30am this morning, the processing was completed by the Department of Home Affairs.
“Can I finally thank the Australian media. There were many times during this period where we have had to ask the media for restraint, where reporting of different stories could have had an impact on the capacity of women to make requests.”
Why they didn’t sing national anthem
The Iranian women’s national football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, sparked international headlines when they did not sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea on the Gold Coast on Monday.
The incident was interpreted as a silent protest against the Islamic Republic regime.
How players escaped
According to the government the plan unfolded over weeks with consideration of visa applications for the Iranian contingent travelling for the tournament underway well in advance of the start of the tournament.
The intervention of US President Donald Trump who demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese act had no direct impact, by the time he posted on social media the first five women had been offered asylum and were signing paperwork.
Planning for the possibility of assistance for the team started at the start of last week.
Mr Burke then flew to Queensland on Sunday night in case any women sought asylum after the final match.
Cre: News.com.au