*This content was translated by AI.
One of the Iranian women's soccer team players who applied for asylum in Australia changed his mind and went back to Iran out of concern for the safety of his family. Unfortunately, it was reported that the mother's desperate dissuasion, "If you come back, you will die," did not reach the player in time.
Britain's 'The Sun' said on the 11th (local time), "One of the Iranian national team players who had been offered shelter by Australian authorities changed his mind and decided to return home. In the process, there was a crisis in which the location of the remaining colleagues was leaked to the Iranian embassy," he reported.
Lee decided to join five colleagues who received Australian visas on the 9th, but chose to go to Iran without boarding a flight on the 10th. "The player contacted the Iranian embassy on the advice of his colleagues and coaches, which forced him to urgently move the remaining six players to a new safe house," Australian Interior Minister Tony Burke said.
It is known that the decisive reason why Lee gave up his asylum is because of the fear of the safety of his family members left behind in his home country. But don't come back to Iran from his mother. The creepy voicemail "they will kill you" has already arrived too late.
According to the media, supporters desperately tried to convey the message to the player who was traveling at the airport, but he was not able to reach it, and it is understood that he is currently staying in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The incident began when Iran's women's national team refused to sing the national anthem in the first group match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup against South Korea in Australia on the 2nd. The Iranian regime branded them "traitors," and the international community's concerns about the safety of the players were growing.
The media said, "There is also a situation everywhere that the players are being driven by the coercion of the Iranian authorities. Iran's prosecutor's office denounced the asylum request as an "enemy conspiracy" against the remaining players in Australia and said they made a direct threat to "return home to ease the family's concerns."
A woman who witnessed the Iranian national team at a hotel on Australia's Gold Coast said, "The atmosphere was very tense and thoroughly controlled. The players were constantly monitored by Iranian bodyguards," he testified. On the other hand, a player's family secretly delivered a message from Iran saying, "You must stay there."
In fact, when the rest of the players who were on their way home left Sydney on the 10th, one player was forced to get on the bus with his arms strongly held and the other was seen sobbing, causing great public anger.
The international community also moved quickly. U.S. President Donald Trump said he discussed the issue with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying that if the Iranian national team returns home, it will "be murdered in all likelihood." Shortly after the news of President Trump's intervention broke, five players, including captain Zara Ganbari, Pateme Bankaside, Zara Sarbali, Atefe Ramazanzade, and Mona Hamudi, escaped the hotel lobby through surveillance and applied for asylum in Australia.
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*This content was translated by AI.
