Joe Molloy

So either they had a change of heart or threats were made, I would think, behind the scenes.

And then they played their final game against the Philippines.

And that's when this, shortly afterwards, that's when this operation took place and the five players defected.

The obvious suspicion is that lots of other players wanted to, but they're worried for their family's safety back home.

And so today, Tuesday, as we were in bed, Australian morning, afternoon, Gold Coast Airport, it seems that the team still very much under surveillance by minders.

You know, they left their hotel to go to the airport.

There were protesters outside, Australian protesters trying to block the bus.

One player was visibly in tears.

And they got on the flight and they're going back to Iran.

So, you know, in a time of kind of remarkable scenes, you can just imagine what's been going on behind the scenes there.

Well, hopefully things have calmed down by then.

It's impossible to predict the next week, let alone two, three months into the future.

So that's what's going on over with the Iranian women's football team.

To matters less important,

And in sporting terms, I use this phrase, Kilkenny in crisis.

So you're writing about this.

In Salt Hill, Galway beat Kilkenny by 18 points at the weekend.

Kilkenny's biggest league defeat since.

Ronan?

18 points.