Sri Lanka, March 18 -- Iran's Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says returning members of Iran's women's football team will be embraced by the public.
The team has been at the centre of controversy after refusing to sing the Iranian national anthem at a match in Australia, which led to them being branded "traitors" by an IRIB presenter.
Six players and one member of the support staff then took up an offer of asylum in Australia, before five changed their minds and left the country to return home.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf said the team were "the dear daughters of this land and water, and the people of Iran embrace them".
"Our daughters, despite all the malice of the enemies of this country, have not become disillusioned with...