Iranian soccer players accepted asylum in Australia. Now, they're changing their minds.

Only two of the seven members of the Iranian women’s soccer team remain in Australia after a fifth player withdrew her claim for asylum and opted to leave

Only two of the seven members of the Iranian women’s soccer team remain in Australia after a fifth player withdrew her claim for asylum and opted to leave.

The Australian government had done everything it could to present them with “genuine choices,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement Sunday, adding that while it could “ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions.”

Initially, six players and a support staff member from a squad list of 26 players accepted humanitarian visas to stay in the country before the rest of the Iranian contingent flew from Sydney to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, last week.

Concerns over their safety came after players did not sing their national anthem ahead of their Asia Cup match against South Korea, two days after the United States and Israel began their war with Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Six Iranian football players and a team official with two unidentified Australian officials (2nd and 3rd from right) in Sydney.Australian Department of Home Affairs / AFP via Getty ImagesThe women, who were branded “traitors” on Iranian state television, then sang the anthem at their next two games and have not commented publicly on the war or their actions.