Members of the Iranian women’s football team, including five players who rejected their Australian asylum bid, have returned home to a hero’s welcome.

Footage captured by Iranian state media overnight shows the team arriving into Iran, with floral wreaths placed around their necks by waiting crowds, as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stand beside them.

The women could then be seen walking across American and Israeli flags placed on the floor as they headed to an unknown location. 

Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the players and support staff were ‘children of the homeland, and the people of Iran embrace them’.

‘Our daughters, despite all the malice of the enemies of this country, have not become disillusioned with themselves; they have not surrendered to the temptations and intimidation of the Iran-haters, and they will return with pride to their eternal home, Iran,’ a translation of his post read.

More to come. 

Members of Iran’s womens football team, including five players who rejected their Australian asylum bid, have returned home