Cheers after five Iranian players granted asylum after escape
Five Iranian soccer players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, have been granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia after a daring escape from their minders at a Gold Coast hotel on Monday night.
“Once everything had been signed off last night, there were lots of photos, lots of celebrating, and then a spontaneous outbreak of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi oi,” a smiling Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced at a press conference at Brisbane Airport on Tuesday morning.
“These women are great athletes, great people, and they’re going to feel very much at home in Australia.”
Revealing that the government had been in secret talks with the players for days, Burke acknowledged that fleeing was a “difficult decision” and assured the remaining 15 or so members of the team that they would be welcome if they wished to stay.
“Even though the offer continues to be there for other members of the team, it is quite possible and indeed likely that not every woman in the team will make a decision to take up the opportunity that Australia would offer to them,” Burke said.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/sos-hand-signal-as-bus-drives-iranian-women-s-soccer-team-from-final-match-20260309-p5o8mq.html
*Thanks to sarisataka for reminding me that this was still ongoing in another post. https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221084930
There apparently was a great deal of secrecy about the negotiations but is now official.
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