Government confirms all but a few members of the Iranian football team offered asylum

Seven members of the Iranian women's football team have been granted asylum in Australia, with the government confirming all but a few members of the delegation were individually offered refuge as they embarked on their journey home.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke detailed the final moments of the women's time in Australia in a media conference, explaining that the players were separated from their minders and spoken to individually as they passed through customs at Sydney International Airport on Tuesday evening.

He also confirmed that an additional two members of the group — one player and a support person — had formally requested and were granted asylum, joining the five players who had done so earlier in the week.

The plight of the football team, known as the Lionesses, has garnered international attention and input from US President Donald Trump after several players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before a broadcast match in Australia.

They were labelled "traitors" on Iranian state television in response, sparking concerns for their safety in the Islamic Republic, where corruption or treason is punishable by death sentence.

"Australia's objective here was not to force people to make a particular decision. We're not that sort of nation," Mr Burke told reporters on Wednesday.

The two additional team members had indicated to Australian officials on Tuesday that they wished to take up the offer of protection, at which point the home affairs minister said they were separated from the rest of the group and sequestered to a safe location by Australian police.

Mr Burke then travelled to Brisbane to meet with the pair, armed with the documentation necessary to start the visa process immediately.

"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 … I had the paperwork ready to execute that immediately," he said.

"They both said that they did."

Details of final moments in Australia revealed

The remaining members of the delegation travelled on to Sydney where they were scheduled to depart on an international flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.

At that point, all of the remaining players and "most of the supporting people" were taken individually into meeting rooms and once again offered the chance to stay in Australia, Mr Burke said.

Some of the team members chose to contact family members at this stage, he added, but "ultimately, in Sydney, none of those individuals made the decision to take up the offer from Australia".

"What we made sure of was there was no rushing, there was no pressure. Everything was about ensuring the dignity for those individuals to make a choice," Mr Burke said.

"Obviously, the one pressure we couldn't take away was the context."

One member of the delegation was delayed in boarding the flight due to efforts to contact family members overseas and deliberations over whether to depart, the minister said in response to speculation that at least one person did not leave willingly.

"We weren't sure which way that person would go," he said.

"That individual ultimately made their own decision."

The government determined not to offer visas to a "small number" of people travelling with the group.

"There were some people leaving Australia who I am glad they're no longer in Australia," Mr Burke said.

He later clarified that the comment was in reference to people travelling with the group who appeared to pressure or discourage the women from accepting the offer to stay in Australia.

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Supporters of the women gathered at the airport on Tuesday night and cheers broke out when word spread that two more members of the group had opted to stay in Australia.

The visas offered to the seven people are valid for 12 months and provide a pathway to permanent residency. The same types of visas have previously been granted to Ukrainians, Palestinians and people from Afghanistan.

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