Australia urgently relocates six Iranian athletes after one reconsiders asylum

One of the seven Iranian football players who sought asylum in Australia has changed her mind, forcing Australian officials to hurriedly move the other six women after Iranian authorities found out their location.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Parliament on March 11 that one of the women, having consulted some of her teammates who had already left the country, said she wanted to leave, CNN reports.

“Unfortunately, in making that decision, she’d been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and to get collected,” Burke said.

“As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was. I immediately gave the instruction for people to be moved.”

The remaining six are now in a safe location under guard by Australian police.

Their teammates left Sydney on Tuesday night and were last seen arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.

Burke didn’t name the woman who changed her mind but had previously announced the two additional woman who has sought asylum were a player and a team support member. Photos were published on the minister’s social account of the seven women earlier Wednesday.

Fears were held for the women on their return to Iran after having been branded as traitors by state media for failing to sing the national anthem before a match last week.

Last night, Iran’s foreign ministry encouraged the women to “come home,” with a spokesperson saying “don’t worry—Iran awaits you with open arms.”