"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 had the paperwork ready to execute that immediately. They both said that they did. I signed off on that."
"Burke said the same opportunity is there for other players, while Albanese said we're willing to provide assistance to other women in the team."
"The pair were separated from their minders and the rest of the group and met with federal police in a location attached to Brisbane airport, before he met with them."
Seven members of the Iranian women's football team have received humanitarian visas in Australia. Two women sought asylum separately from the main group before the team departed Sydney for Malaysia. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed both women were offered humanitarian visas with pathways to permanent residency, and both accepted. The visas were processed overnight. These two join five teammates whose humanitarian visas were confirmed the previous day. Burke and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly encouraged additional team members to seek asylum if desired. The team had arrived in Sydney after competing in a tournament on the Gold Coast, where they lost their final match to the Philippines.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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