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The players had numerous opportunities to discuss their options after notifying Australian authorities of their decision, according to a statement released this morning.
The statement emphasized that, while the Australian government can provide and communicate opportunities, it cannot alter the challenging circumstances influencing these players’ tough choices.
The government has exerted every effort to ensure these women are offered a path to a safer future in Australia, the statement said.
Australians can take pride in knowing that their country offered these women genuine choices and facilitated interactions with authorities intent on helping them, it added.
The group needed to be swiftly relocated after one woman disclosed their location upon deciding to return to Iran with the others.
There are now three Iranian footballers who have claimed asylum left in Australia. 
Political scientist Simon Jackman said Iran is known to put pressure on family members back home to target their citizens across the world.
“At the end of the day, it’s what’s in the minds of these young women who are in an impossible situation,” he told Today.
“The best-intended elements of our government are doing the best they can, even though it is a deeply personal decision, weighing up what they may be being back channelled to them when they get on the phone and talk to mum and dad or extended family back home.
“You cannot imagine what that must be like for a young woman in a country a long way from home, just immense pressure.”
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