Arabic version: فريق كرة القدم النسائي الإيراني يعود إلى الوطن من تركيا

The Iranian women’s national football team has arrived in eastern Turkiye and headed to the Iran border on their way home, among them several players who withdrew their asylum bids in Australia. They landed in Istanbul on Tuesday evening on a flight from Oman and traveled to the eastern city of Igdir, arriving just after midday on Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera.

Wearing Iranian national team tracksuits, the players could be seen leaving the airport before heading to the Gurbulak-Bazargan crossing, which lies about 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the southeast. The players arrived in Turkiye via Oman and Malaysia, having left Australia, where they were competing in the Asian Cup.

Last week, seven members of the delegation sought sanctuary in Australia after being branded “traitors” back home for refusing to sing the national anthem at their opening game at the Women’s Asian Cup. However, five of them later changed their minds, leaving only two in Australia.

In a post on X, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the players and their support team were “children of the homeland, and the people of Iran embrace them.” He stated that by returning, they had “disappointed the enemies [of Iran] and did not surrender to deception and intimidation by anti-Iran elements.” Rights groups have accused Tehran of pressuring athletes abroad by threatening relatives with the seizure of property if they defect or make statements against Iran.