The youngster has started training with Swansea’s first team and could soon make his senior bow
Swansea City boss Vitor Matos says loaning Bobby Wales out to Huddersfield Town has allowed him to bring highly-rated academy marksman Thomas Woodward into the first team picture.
Advertisement
Wales was loaned out to Huddersfield Town on the final day of the January transfer window, in a move that prompted some to question whether Vitor Matos had potentially left himself short in terms of forward options heading into the second half of the season, particularly with Adam Idah sidelined with a long-term injury.
Top scorer Zan Vipotnik, who added two more goals to his tally in the 4-0 thumping of Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, is the clear first choice, and some feel Wales is already capable of deputising.
But with both Liam Cullen, and indeed Melker Widell seemingly ahead of the youngster in the pecking order, the feeling was the 20-year-old needed more game.
“The first decision is to let Bobby out is regarding his development and regarding his career as well,” Matos said. “I think that’s quite important. That he has minutes and that he plays consistent from now on to keep his development and as well for us to keep, let’s say, an eye on him with proper competition.”
Wales made his debut for the Terriers off the bench on Saturday in the 2-2 draw with Blackpool, and Swansea will hope it’s the first of many appearances in blue and white.
The hope is Wales can come back and make a serious challenge for the first team, much like Filip Lissah, who’s enjoying a resoundingly successful spell with Scottish side Falkirk.
However, it seems there’s perhaps another motivation behind the move.
Advertisement
“The second answer is that with that, we create space for Woody to train with the first team,” Matos added.
“That is important for us to see. He’s a good player in the academy and we want him to as well do a next step.
“We create a gap. we use the academy and I think that’s why I’m really happy.”
‘Woody’ refers to highly-rated 19-year-old Woodward, who has burned his way through the age grades at academy levels due to his goalscoring exploits.
Advertisement
The attacking midfielder put pen to paper on his first professional deal back in January 2025, having scored 30 goals in all competitions across all age groups in an impressive 2023-24 campaign.
He also made his debut for Wales at under-19 level in September 2024, scoring on his debut against Azerbaijan.
“Last season was great for me,” Woodward said shortly after penning his first professional deal. “I got to Christmas and I think I had around 12 goals to my name, and I just wanted to score more and more.
“Credit to all of the boys for the goals as well, especially as I play in midfield.
Advertisement
“Then last year, I got my first ever call-up for Wales, and I scored on my full debut in front of my family, that was another incredibly proud moment, and I hope there’s more to come.”
His current deal runs until the end of the current season, although the club do have the option of another year, and should he continue on his current trajectory.
Indeed, he ended last term with a goal tally of 23 goals, a record that’s proved difficult to ignore.
Having already trained with the first team, it’s understood Matos is pondering the possibility of including him in matchday squad in the Championship at some point.
Advertisement
“My long-term goals are clear, keep playing strong for the under-21s, and hopefully, in years to come, make my senior debut.” Woodward said recently when asked about his long-term ambitions.
“This is my boyhood club, so that would be a dream.”
Atletico, without being above average in those ill-fated 23 minutes, were 4-0 up, Micky van de Ven also failing to keep his footing to present Antoine Griezmann with a goal.
The final score makes the second leg of this last 16 tie a formality. Spurs only have a fight for survival now.
Tudor’s unique selling point in a chequered, nomadic coach career was supposedly his ability to provide an instant spark of impact. At Spurs, this has been The Midas Touch in reverse. The Minus Touch.
Four defeats from four games is the worst start by anyone in charge at Spurs, with each one more damaging and demoralising than the last. Tudor is not arresting the Spurs crisis, he is accelerating it.
Advertisement
On his own future, Tudor said: “This is not a topic for me. This is not about my job. It is about helping the team.”
As yet, Tudor has not fulfilled his part of the bargain. His days must now be measured in very small numbers.
Tudor has demonstrated he is not afraid to make the big calls. The snag is he is getting them wrong when Spurs can ill-afford it.
Opinion will be divided on his decision to substitute Kinsky after only 17 minutes, between a coach saving the keeper from himself or a hard-nosed act that might kill a young player’s career.
Advertisement
It was a stunning move, smacking of a coach who either feels he had nothing to lose or possibly feels he has lost it already at Spurs.
He said in a brief post-match inquisition: “It was a very rare thing. I have never done this in 15 years of coaching. I did it to preserve the guy and to preserve the team.
“It was an incredible situation.”
Of course, Tudor cannot be held responsible for what happened to Kinsky, but it was symptomatic of how things have got worse on his watch.
Advertisement
What is firmly at Tudor’s door was that it was his bold decision to drop Vicario and play Kinsky and to say it back-fired is a masterpiece of under-statement.
When Kinsky’s number went up, it was left to his Spurs’ team-mates and even Atletico Madrid’s fans, who pushed their passion and partisanship to one side to offer sympathetic applause, to console him.
Tudor did not appear to have consolation on his mind as the heartbroken youngster came off.
A deepening area of low pressure between Scotland and Iceland on Wednesday is bringing strong westerly winds, gales and even touching severe gales.
The Met Office has a yellow warning in force until 12:00 GMT in western and northern Scotland for gusts to reach 65-70mph (105-110km/h) and a small chance of up to 80mph (130km/h) in some locations.
The strongest winds will initially be felt in the Outer and Inner Hebrides before spreading into northern mainland Scotland and Orkney later on.
There could be some travel disruption such as cancelled ferries, flight delays and bridge restrictions for high-sided vehicles.
Advertisement
While Wednesday will be a dry and bright day for most of the UK, there will be some frequent showers across Scotland.
By Thursday the strongest winds across western Scotland will have eased but it will turn windy quite widely across the UK.
Gusts of 40-50mph (65-80km/h) will be seen widely, up to 60mph (97km/h) around western coasts of England and Wales and 65mph (105km/h) in northern and western Scotland.
We then need to keep an eye on the forecast for the weekend.
Advertisement
Another deep area of low pressure will pass to the south of Iceland with strong winds on its southern flank across the UK.
Paul Allen Rose, founder of Barrow’s Owl Sanctuary, was stripped of his MBE this month alongside eight other people who have been lost their honours for various reasons.
Rose, of Walney, was sentenced in May 2024, after pleading guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and one count of failing to ensure animal welfare, contrary to Section 4 and Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
GreedFall: The Dying World – a lot better than you might have heard (Nacon)
Nacon’s troubled prequel is finally ready for its full release on consoles and PC, as it attempts to live up to the lofty ambitions of the original game and its unusual setting.
Launching games in early access on Steam can be a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it helps nurture a community who’ll hopefully tell their friends to buy it on full release, while also giving developers a massive free play test. But on the negative side, players can get a deeply flawed first impression of a game that ordinarily wouldn’t be seen by the public for months, or even several years.
GreedFall: The Dying World (back when it was called GreedFall 2) entered early access in September 2024 and has not been getting an easy ride. The original game had more than its fair share of technical problems when it was released, and its sequel has come in for plenty of flack during its early access period, while at the same time its developer suffered a round of layoffs. Double-A games like GreedFall are rarely highly polished affairs, and now that it’s available in its final form it’s interesting to see how it fulfils what are once again quite lofty ambitions.
Like the first GreedFall, the backdrop to the sequel is a multi-polar colonial world, this time with a plague spreading across its continent. Your heroes come from the so far untouched island of Teer Fradee, their ornate dress and spiritual connection to their ecosystem reminiscent of Native Americans. The musket toting, technologically more advanced nations invading their land set up mines, carelessly annihilate swathes of wildlife, and call the indigenous people ‘savages’.
Advertisement
There’s a degree of historical realism about its setting, although you’ll also find huge mythical beasts and be able to use magic. Your first boss fight is against a freshly conjured nature golem that’s gone on the rampage, forcing you first to fight and then to flee. This proves to be only the first in a number of set pieces the game has to offer, as it alternates between limited open world sections and more linear exploration.
Conversations similarly vary between straightforward and consequential, your words and deeds sometimes affecting your reputation with party members and the wider community. The story propels you from place to place fairly frequently and membership of your group also changes, your standing with different teammates influencing how they support you, and whether they might be in the market for a little romance.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Advertisement
There are other, more significant changes and initially the most noticeable is that while some conversations are in English, plenty are spoken in Yecht Fradí, the invented language of the aboriginal people from which your hero hails. It sounds entirely convincing, its principle downside being the need to look at subtitles for many of the conversations, which isn’t always easy when you’re navigating or trying to follow someone’s tracks.
Combat has also changed considerably, and not entirely for the better. The fact that you’re offered three different approaches to controlling fights at the beginning of the game suggests its developer, Spiders, wasn’t sure about it either. What emerges is a semi-real-time tactical fighting system, inspired by BioWare’s early work but built with a drastically lower budget.
Advertisement
You can opt to just control your own character, as if you’re in a Mass Effect style action role-player, letting your party do their own thing, while at the other extreme you can pause time and issue specific orders to every party member, just like Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. While it is possible to micromanage every aspect, other than the occasional boss fight we didn’t find it made much difference except to make battles take a lot longer to finish.
Battles are riddled with rough edges, the targeting system and the way you trigger different attacks working fine but never feeling necessary enough to make it all worth it, especially since your party seem quite happy to activate their own special moves if you let them.
GreedFall: The Dying World screenshot of a battle
Compared with Dragon Age: The Veilguard or Dragon’s Dogma 2, it’s all a bit clumsy and lacking in panache. Far more impressive are the game’s contrasting and architecturally distinctive environments. From the wilderness of Teer Fradee to the various cities and villages you visit, each area has its own wholly believable look and feel, as well as a population with their own beliefs, prejudices, and traditions.
GreedFall 2 offers first rate world building and unlike Avowed – which crammed its lore down your throat in huge, indigestible lumps – The Dying World’s conversations are admirably direct, whilst conveying all they need to about the lands and peoples you visit. Voice-acting is good and the script expressive enough to communicate emotion and societal mores without wasting your time with reams of tedious, unnecessary detail.
That’s just as well, because there’s a lot of talking, some of which comes with lasting effects. Like the original game, facial animation isn’t its strongest suit, but the combination of beautifully rendered environments, believable settlements, and a coherent sense of its warring nations, makes for a game that’s more than the sum of its parts, the over-ambitious tactical combat balanced by likeably earnest characters and a decent story.
Advertisement
Its other great success is giving you quests that can successfully be fulfilled in a number of ways. Depending on the skills you cultivate, you can wear disguises, bribe guards, use diplomacy to persuade, stealth to pilfer key items, or good old lethal force to just wipe everyone out – the latter proving especially cathartic after a failed negotiation with an annoying side character. It feels great to have options though and to be rewarded for exploring them.
Even post launch, GreedFall: The Dying World certainly has its issues. It also has an unusually well-developed sense of purpose and place. There are way too many bland fantasy role-playing games, but this one leans into its history and the tensions of its world, without letting that get in the way of the pacing or action. Look past the lack of polish, there’s an immersive world to explore, along with a compelling sense of progression as your party toughens up.
GreedFall 2: The Dying World review summary
In Short: An atmospheric and evocative action role-player whose rough edges and lacklustre combat are balanced by compelling world-building, beautiful environments, and a far reaching sense of consequence.
Pros: Consistent progression with meaningful new skills and upgrades. Many quests can be completed in different ways. No major bugs. Believable characters and lore.
Advertisement
Cons: Battle system works in principle but never feels quite right. A general lack of polish and its non-linear areas are rarely particularly large or open.
Score: 7/10
Advertisement
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC Price: £49.99 Publisher: Nacon Developer: Spiders Release Date: 12th March 2026 Age Rating: 16
The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in California has resigned and pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering after prosecutors said he took more than $270,000 from his parish.
Pope Leo XIV announced Bishop Emanuel Shaleta’s resignation on Tuesday. Shaleta was arrested last week at San Diego International Airport while trying to leave the country, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Prosecutor Joel Madero said Shaleta is accused of embezzling from St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego. But Shaleta’s defense attorney says those allegations are false.
Here’s what to know:
Advertisement
Bishop for more than a decade
Shaleta, 69, was born in Faysh Kahbur, a small town in Iraq near the Tigris River and the Syrian border, according to a biography on the St. Paul Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church website. He entered seminary at age 15, training for the priesthood at St. John Minor Seminary near Mosul and Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. He was ordained by Pope John Paul II in 1984.
After receiving his doctorate in biblical theology, he was transferred to the United States, serving in Illinois, Michigan and California until 2015 when Pope Francis appointed him the bishop of the Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans in Canada.
Francis appointed him the Bishop of Saint Peter Apostle of San Diego of the Chaldeans in 2017.
Allegations involve rental payments
Madero, the prosecutor, said the embezzlement allegations are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church’s social hall, and that there were discrepancies in the church’s financial accounts.
Advertisement
A court document with details of the allegations has been sealed. But the San Diego District Attorney’s office says Shaleta has been charged with 16 felonies, including eight counts of embezzlement and eight counts of money laundering.
Shaleta has pleaded not guilty.
During a recent Mass, Shaleta said he has never “abused any penny of the church money.”
Shaleta faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the district attorney’s office said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 27.
Advertisement
The Chaldean Church released a formal statement, saying that the Vatican was investigating the matter and that “all perspectives are being taken seriously and require careful review, proper documentation, and time so that the truth may be fully and fairly discerned.”
The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released a statement in solidarity with Shaleta and asked for prayers for the church.
Chaldeans are important Christian church in the Middle East
There are several branches of the Catholic Church that recognize the pope. That means they may have their own customs and rules, but they agree on the same church teachings. It also means the pope may appoint branch leaders and approve resignations.
The largest branch is commonly known as the Roman Catholic Church, and it is sometimes also called the Latin or Western Catholic church. There are also 23 Eastern branches of the church, including the Chaldean branch, that are in communion with the pope.
Advertisement
The Chaldean Catholic Church represents more than a million Aramaic-speaking Christians. The church traces its founding to the Apostle Thomas in the region that is now Iraq. Today, the headquarters — or Patriarchate — of the Chaldean church remains in Baghdad, Iraq.
The Chaldean Community Foundation estimates that the Chaldean and Assyrian branches together have roughly half a million members in the U.S., primarily in Arizona, California and Illinois.
Case comes during time of turmoil
for the branch
The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for Eastern Rite churches, which allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.
Leo actually accepted Shaleta’s resignation in February, but appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation. Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator.
Advertisement
The head of the Chaldean church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, retired on March 9, and Leo announced the retirement at the same time as Shaleta’s resignation.
It’s not clear if the two departures are connected.
Sako, 76, said that he first discussed retiring with Pope Francis in 2024, but Francis encouraged him to remain. Sako said he asked Leo to retire again on Tuesday and Leo agreed.
Sako said he freely offered his resignation and was leaving “of my own will” to pursue prayer, writing and simple service. He had occasionally clashed with Iraq’s political leaders, and his retirement comes as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has spilled into Iraq and other neighboring countries.
Advertisement
Before retiring, Sako wrote a letter to parishioners in the San Diego region, urging them to seek unity and “a compassionate, faithful heart, far from the spirit of revenge” during an “exceptionally painful situation.”
“Let the legal procedures take their course in revealing the truth and upholding justice,” Sako wrote. ____ Associated Press journalists Gregory Bull, Christopher Weber, Deepa Bharath, Nicole Winfield and Kathy McCormack contributed.
Fuller, a district attorney, received an endorsement from President Donald Trump in February.
He described Trump’s backing as “rocket fuel” for his campaign. However, this support was not enough to clinch an outright victory in a crowded field of 14 candidates, which included nine Republicans, three Democrats, a Libertarian and an independent. The election saw all candidates compete together, with the top two advancing.
Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, faces a significant challenge in the heavily Republican district. Despite this, Democrats are expected to highlight his strong showing as another success in recent special elections. Harris has campaigned on a platform of moderation and addressing local issues, drawing a clear contrast with Greene’s more confrontational approach.
Advertisement
Harris, a cattle farmer and retired brigadier general, faces a significant challenge in the heavily Republican distric (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
The winner will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term. A Republican win in northwest Georgia’s 14th Congressional district would bolster the party’s majority in the House. The district stretches from suburban Atlanta to the Tennessee state line.
Fuller was a White House fellow in the first Trump administration and is a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia Air National Guard. He finished fourth in the 2020 Republican primary that Greene won before becoming a district attorney. Fuller had set an outright win as his goal for Tuesday’s vote.
This round of voting is only the first step in an elections marathon in the Georgia district. Republicans and Democrats seeking a full two-year term are set for a May 19 party primary, and possibly a June 16 party runoff, before advancing to the general election in November.
Last week, 10 Republicans and Harris qualified to run in November’s election for a full two-year term. That includes Fuller, as well as Colton Moore, a former state senator and favorite of far-right activists who drew attention for a vociferous attack on Trump’s prosecution in Georgia for alleged election interference.
For some, support for Trump hasn’t wavered. Presley Stover of Dallas, Georgia, voted for Fuller. She said she doesn’t agree with the president on everything, but supports him on the whole.
Advertisement
“I think as of right now, he’s doing a great job,” she said. “He’s definitely helping us a lot more than Biden did. I mean, as of now, they’re not the best, but you’re not gonna change anything overnight.”
Some Republicans, though, were unaffected by Trump’s nod.
“God, no. That’s not going to sway me one way or the other,” said Brendon O’Laughlin of Dallas, noting he voted for Brian Stover, a Republican from his area. O’Laughlin said he was looking for a change in style from Greene.
Those who backed Democrats said they were repelled by Trump and eager to reduce his power.
Advertisement
“There just needs to be checks and balances and I don’t think we have many of those right now,” said Matthew Wisniewski, a Dallas resident who voted for Harris.
But voters on a whole in the district embraced Greene’s hard-right campaign in 2020, when she parachuted into the district after aborting a campaign in a more closely contested district closer to Atlanta.
Greene was one of the most well-known members of Congress until she left in January. She remained loyal to Trump after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, promoting Trump’s falsehoods about a stolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.
But Greene began clashing with Trump last year after he and other Republicans pushed back against her running for U.S. Senate or governor. Greene criticized Trump’s foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.
Advertisement
Returning another Republican to Congress would bolster the party’s narrow majority in the House. Republicans currently control 218 House seats to Democrats’ 214.
North Yorkshire Police shared a video of the chase which was from Craven to Otley and said they had located the suspected stolen vehicle just over an hour after it was reported missing.
Officers from the Roads Policing Group attempted to intercept the vehicle at about 9.20am, and then set off in pursuit.
Advertisement
A spokesman said the pursuit “reached speeds of more than 100mph along the A65 from Skipton to Otley, travelling via Ilkley.”
Recommended reads:
Several specialist units were sent to the area to help intercept the vehicle along with colleagues from West Yorkshire Police.
The driver, a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking, burglary, failing to stop for police, criminal damage, driving without a licence, driving without insurance, and resisting arrest.
He currently remains in police custody.
Advertisement
The spokesperson added: “Thankfully, no members of the public were injured. We appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation while Bridge Street in Otley was temporarily blocked.
“To those who believe they can act in this way without consequence: you are mistaken, there are no borders for us. We will use every specialist resource available to identify you, stop you, and bring you into custody.”
It outlined policy changes that could help the sector’s financial sustainability, such as reforming business rates for theatres, extending theatre tax relief to support touring productions, introducing stronger incentives for donations, and ensuring public funding settlements keep pace with inflation.
Yet there is a reason this Newcastle side have not kept a clean sheet since January.
Although Raphinha was 35 yards from goal in the final seconds of the game, substitute Joe Willock did not get close enough to the former Leeds United forward.
The Brazilian had the second he needed to look up and play a pass to Dani Olmo which, somehow, took a handful of flagging Newcastle players out of the game.
Olmo jinked inside the box and a panicked Malick Thiaw stuck out a leg, leaving referee Guida with no other choice as he pointed to the spot.
Advertisement
St James’ Park was stunned into silence for the first time all night.
“It was a great advert for us as football club on and off the pitch, but I’m just devastated for everybody that we couldn’t get the win that we all deserved,” Howe said.
“That’s football for you. It never plays to romance. It does what it does and now we have to dust ourselves down, take the positives from the performance and try and hit that on a more consistent basis.”
Newcastle felt a similar gut wrench on home soil after conceding stoppage-time winners against Liverpool and Arsenal earlier this season, and a late equaliser at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
Advertisement
Yet it was rather telling that those supporters who stayed behind on Tuesday night applauded their players off the field as they attempted to lift them.
This tie is far from over, even if it is going to take a herculean effort from Newcastle at the Nou Camp next week.
Howe felt in the “cold light of day” his side would see such positives after they showed they can compete with the very best.
Barnes was staying similarly upbeat.
Advertisement
“It will be a different sort of game at their place but we know what we can do and we know when we are at our level how well we can play,” he added.
“What a feeling it would have been to go there 1-0 up but we are level in the tie and all to play for.”
Two more members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted asylum in Australia, taking the total to seven, amid fears for their safety after they were criticised for not singing their national anthem.
They were in Australia for the Asian Cup when the Iran war began just over a week ago.
The two women, a player and the other a member of staff, have been reunited with five players who were granted humanitarian visas a day earlier.
But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters that, after making security assessments, not everyone who applied for a visa was granted one.
Advertisement
“There is a reason why some people were not made a direct offer [to stay]. There were some people leaving Australia who I am glad are no longer in Australia,” he said without offering a further explanation.
The rest of the team departed from Sydney late Tuesday local time to return to Iran.
Image: The players before Sunday’s match with the Philippines. Pic: Reuters
Speaking after five people originally applied for visas, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They are safe here and they should feel at home here.”
The Australian government had been under pressure to protect the women after they were knocked out of the tournament.
Advertisement
The players were reportedly criticised on Iranian TV, with a commentator saying they had committed the “pinnacle of dishonour” for staying silent during the anthem before their match on 2 March – two days after the US and Israel began attacking Iran.
“Traitors during wartime must be dealt with more severely,” presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi said, according to Reuters news agency.
Day 10 Iran war: Videos from on the ground
Some believed the team’s silence was an act of resistance, while others saw it as a show of mourning following the initial US-Israel attacks on their country.
Advertisement
The team has not made any specific comment on their stance.
They sang and saluted ahead of defeats to Australia on Thursday and the Philippines on Sunday, but there were concerns they had been ordered to do so.
Image: Supporters ran up to the bus as it left the stadium. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
The team failed to get past the group stage and players’ union FIFPRO said it was “really concerned” about their welfare and had been unable to contact them.
Dozens of people chanted “let them go” and “save our girls” as the team’s bus left the stadium on the Gold Coast after Sunday’s match.
Supporters said they could see at least three players making the international hand signal for help, according to CNN.
Advertisement
Image: Sara Didar of Iran during the match with South Korea on 2 March. Pic: Reuters
Before the rest of the squad left the country, some Iranian Australians held a protest at the team’s hotel and at the airport, seeking to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.
Mr Trump posted on Truth Social about how some players felt they had to return “because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return”.
Advertisement
Iran war briefing: Day 10 with Sean Bell
‘Ongoing threat’
Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the US, said he had been told that Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi were now in a “safe location”.
Advertisement
He earlier said the team faced an “ongoing threat” after their “brave act” not to sing the anthem.
“As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran,” he posted on social media.
The Australian Iranian Council had also urged the government to protect the players.
It launched an online petition asking authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain”.
Advertisement
Mr Burke told reporters that the seven Iranians are now on humanitarian visas, “and the processing will soon start for them to move to what’s called a resolution of status, which is a permanent visa”.