Zahra Ghanbari, one of the six players who sought asylum in Australia, reversed her decision and returned to Iran.Iran’s judiciary says the assets of the country’s women’s football team captain have been released by local authorities, reversing an earlier decision to seize them after the player sought and then withdrew an asylum claim in Australia last month.“The assets of Zahra Ghanbari, a footballer for the Iranian women’s national team, which had been seized, were released by court decision,” Iran’s Mizan news agency said on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIt added that the move was taken after “a declaration of innocence following her change in behaviour”.Ghanbari was among a group of six players and one backroom staff member who sought asylum in Australia in March after playing in the Women’s Asian Cup at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.At that time, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said his country had offered asylum to all players and support staff members before their departure to Iran over fears they might be punished upon their return home after the team refused to sing Iran’s national anthem at the tournament.But five of them, including Ghanbari, later changed their minds and returned to Iran along with the rest of the team. They were given a hero’s welcome at a special ceremony in central Tehran on March 19.The announcement came two days after Iranian media published a list of people they termed “traitors”, whose assets had been frozen by court order following the outbreak of the war on February 28.Ghanbari’s name appeared on the list, although it was not immediately clear when the decision to freeze her assets had been taken. Advertisement Earlier this month, two players who sought asylum in Australia before changing their minds told Al Ja …
