Three Iraqi Football Players Seek Asylum in Australia

[behnam]

From the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA):

BASRA, Nov 18 (KUNA) -- Three Iraqi football players and an assistant coach have refused to return home from Australia after losing to the Aussis 0-2, an Iraqi football official said Sunday.
Tareq Ahmad, assistant secretary general of Iraq Football Association, told reporters here that players Ali Mansour, Ali Abbas and Ali Kudhayyer took their passports on the eve of their departure from Australia, without the administration's knowing about it, and left the hotel.
Yahya Olwan, Iraqi olympic football team's coach, confirmed that the three players refused to return in addition to one of his assistants, whose name was not revealed.
Olwan said the four planned to seek asylum in Australia. He did not elaborate. (end) smj.bs KUNA 190054 Nov 07NNNN


Has anyone heard about this, and do they have any updates? This is a couple of days old, but I couldn't find any other threads about it...


The news from other sources:

Reuters
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Sydney Morning Herald
BNN

[shayan20]

apparently they liked the life in Australia here and wanna stay here

[KC McElroy]

apparently they liked the life in Australia here and wanna stay here

Source?

[Sumerian]

Yep, it's true. Ali Abbas, Ali Mansoor, and Ali Khudhair escaped from their hotel room in the middle of the night. Also, the assistant coach Saadi Toma, an Assyrian, has lots of relatives in Australia and claims he's only there to visit and that he didn't have anything to do with those 3 players escaping.

All 3 Ali's play for the Air Force club in Iraq and were set to play in the ACL next season! Shame really. Ali Abbas and Ali Mansoor have great futures ahead of them. The might try to play in the A-League I guess.

Ali Mansoor goal in the Asian Games: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNYVteAp2IQ

[Obteene]

3 iraqi players = dajagah = traitors to their country

[taha]

3 iraqi players = dajagah = traitors to their country

who are you to call them traitors...with all due respect

[Obteene]

who are you to call them traitors...with all due respect

I am Obteene. And i am calling them traitors.

[Suprah]

Probably they still play in the Iraqi league back home in which all matches are more or less played in Iraqi Kurdistan. No surprise they wanted to get of there.

[Sumerian]

These players are more or less subs, only Ali Abbas started in the last game vs. Australia and he was subbed out. Ali Abbas was actually part of the Asian Cup squad too. Yep, they all still play in the Iraqi league, for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (Air Force).

[minirum]

How they can seek asylum though? Don't they have to be at risk of becoming political prisoners in order to seek asylum?

[Vestvood Vizard]

3 iraqi players = dajagah = traitors to their country

(...says the guy who has chosen to not live in Iran)

[Obteene]

(...says the guy who has chosen to not live in Iran)

exactly.

[Rumi]

I am Obteene. And i am calling them traitors.

same

[Rumi]

(...says the guy who has chosen to not live in Iran)

This has nothing to do with it at all...we came make money....period...how have we lost our identity and gheyrat?