The Iranian women’s football team arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday on their ​way home from Malaysia, after five ‌players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia.

Australia granted humanitarian visas to six players ​and one support staff member after ​they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if ⁠they returned to Iran.

Concerns over their ​safety surfaced after several players failed to sing ​the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month.

Five of the group have since ​changed their minds and decided to return ​home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on ‌Monday.

They ⁠rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week, leaving ​only two players ​still ⁠in Australia.

The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United ​States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, ​assassinating ⁠supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament over a week ago.

It ⁠was ​not clear how the team ​would continue their journey home to neighbouring Iran from ​Istanbul.

MANCHESTER: Kings of the league phase, England’s six Champions League sides were made to look like paupers in the first legs of the last 16 as they failed to muster a win between them.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have seemingly insurmountable mountains to climb, even with home advantage this week, as they trail by three goals against Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

Liverpool and Arsenal will expect to still get past Galatasaray and Bayer Leverkusen, while Newcastle United are dreaming of shocking Barcelona in the Camp Nou after outplaying the Spanish champions in a 1-1 draw at St. James’ Park.

The Premier League’s financial advantage over Europe’s other major leagues, thanks to far more lucrative television rights deals, has not been reflected in the latter stages of the Champions League for some time.

Only three of the last 13 Champions League winners have come from England.

Arsenal were the only Premier League club to reach the last four last season and none reached the semi-finals in the 2023/24 campaign.

Fatigue after a gruelling winter schedule is often cited as the main factor for the decline of English sides as the only major league without a winter break and two domestic cup competitions.

French great and former UEFA president Michel Platini once referred to English sides as “lions in winter, lambs in spring”.

“In general, I think it is not helpful for English clubs not to have a winter break,” said Liverpool boss Arne Slot.

Of the six English sides involved in the Champions League, four of them also made the League Cup semi-finals and five were involved in FA Cup action in the days before their European disappointment last week.

Despite the Premier League’s collective financial might, in three of the six last-16 ties involving English clubs, they are facing sides with greater revenue.

Real Madrid remain the world’s richest club and defied recent poor form to blow away Manchester City 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted “many things can happen” as his side try to overturn the deficit.

“It’s a football game, many things can happen,” Guardiola, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Monday told reporters.

“We have to focus and try to win the game and after see what happens. I don’t have a specific plan — just try.”

Guardiola has opted not to train on the day prior to the game as the team recover from the trip to Madrid and their 1-1 draw at West Ham on Saturday which damaged City’s Premier League title hopes.

“Training won’t improve us a lot and we don’t have time to train,” Guardiola said. “I prefer them to be at home.”

The Spaniard, who made his name as a player and manager with Real’s arch-rivals Barcelona, added: “We will train tomorrow (Tuesday). We will arrive at 2:00 pm (1400 GMT), move the legs a little and go. I’ve done it two or three times this season.”

Defending champions PSG also clicked back into gear to see off Chelsea 5-2 and Barcelona were happy to escape Newcastle on level terms after Lamine Yamal’s penalty snatched a late draw.

Tottenham’s 5-2 defeat by Atletico was also little surprise given Spurs’ sorry domestic form which has left them fighting for their survival in the Premier League.The Premier League has become even more attritional this season, with games littered with long throw-ins and physical battles at set-pieces.

“It’s so relentless, physically. There’s not much control; it’s a running game. It’s about duels,” said Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon earlier in the season.

Slot commented earlier this month that the English game is no longer a “joy to watch” due to the emphasis on dead balls.

“Here, you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says ‘just go on’,” added the Dutchman.

By contrast, Slot was angered by Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s reluctance to allow any physical contact from corners as the Reds had an equaliser ruled out in their 1-0 defeat in Istanbul.

Guardiola has responded to the fashion for a more physical Premier League by beefing up his City side.

But they lack the control and poise to dominate the ball they used to have and were cut open by Federico Valverde’s first-half hat-trick in Madrid.

In the two games without an English team, the remarkable Norwegian underdog Bodo/Glimt takes a 3-0 lead to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday and Bayern Munich are up 6-1 hosting Atalanta on Wednesday.

Bodo/Glimt should have no fear going to Sporting’s 52,000-seat José Alvalade Stadium that is more than six times bigger than their home stadium.

Coach Kjetil Knutsen’s team already won this year in front of bigger crowds and intense atmospheres at Atletico’s Metropolitano Stadium and the San Siro against Inter Milan.

Bodo’s shocking 2-1 win at Atletico in the last round of league-phase games in January meant squeezing into the 24-team knockout phase placed 23rd in the 36-team standings. A 2-1 win in Milan completed a 5-2 scoreline in the knockout playoffs round in February.

Both teams should be fresh in Lisbon after skipping scheduled domestic league games at the weekend to help them prepare.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2026

KUALA LUMPUR: The Iranian women’s football team began making their way home from Malaysia on Monday, after five of its players withdrew their claims for asylum in Australia.

Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member from the Iranian squad after they sought asylum, fearing possible persecution if they returned home.

Concerns over their safety emerged after the players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month.

Five of the group, however, have since changed their minds and decided to return home to Iran, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on Monday.

They joined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur where the team had been staying since departing from Sydney last week, with just two remaining in Australia.

Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News the government respected the decision of those who chose to return to Iran while continuing to provide support to the remaining two.

“This is a very complex situation,” Thistlethwaite said.

The team was seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday evening checking in on an Oman Air flight, though their destination was unclear.

Team waiting for flight connections

The Asian Football Confederation said earlier on Monday the squad would seek to travel to another country from Malaysia as it cannot immediately return to Tehran due to the war in the Middle East.

“They are just waiting for the flight connections. When they are going… where to, they have to tell us,” AFC General Secretary Windsor John told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

He said he was unable to verify reports that the players’ families had come under pressure from authorities in Iran, adding that the players had not expressed any concerns over their safety.

“We have spoken to the team officials. We have spoken to the coaches, the head of delegation. They are actually in high spirits,” he said.

“I personally met them. They are not demotivated, or they didn’t look afraid.”

The Iranian Football Association said the team was expected to leave Malaysia for Tehran soon “to once again be emb­raced by their families and homeland.”

The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament a week ago.

US President Donald Trump had praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for allowing the women to stay, saying on social media the United States was ready to take the players if Australia did not.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2026