The two Iranian soccer players refugees in Australia train with a local team
Two members of the Iranian women’s national football team, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, trained with the local team Brisbane Roar (east), the club confirmed this Tuesday, while the rest of the team continues its journey back to Iran.
The Australian club confirmed that both players were received at its facilities to participate in the women’s team training and that they will have a supportive environment during their adaptation process, after Australia granted them humanitarian visas last week following their participation in the Asia Cup, where they did not sing the national anthem before a match.
“Today, Brisbane Roar officially welcomed Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh to the club’s training facility to participate in training with our women’s team,” club manager Kaz Patafta said in an Instagram post.
The two footballers were part of a group of seven Iranian players who requested asylum during the Asia Cup held in Australia, although five of them later recanted and left the country.
“Everything will be fine,” Fatemeh Pasandideh published on her Instagram account, where she also shared the images of the training, while Atefeh Ramezanisadeh also thanked the team on said social network.
As confirmed by the Asian Football Confederation, the rest of the Iranian team – made up of another 24 players – traveled to Oman on Monday night after spending about a week in Kuala Lumpur, where they arrived after their participation in the championship. The organization did not specify whether from Oman they will return to Iran, a country that has been going through an armed conflict since the end of February.
Concern about the players’ situation began on March 2, when the soccer players avoided singing the national anthem in their debut against South Korea in said tournament, which provoked strong criticism from official Iranian media, which described them as “traitors.” In the two subsequent matches of the tournament, the players did sing the national anthem before being eliminated on March 8 after losing to the Philippines.
Fearing possible reprisals, seven members of the team requested asylum in Australia. However, five gave up days later in circumstances that, according to human rights activists, could be related to pressure or threats against their families.
The case has acquired an international dimension in the context of the conflict in Iran, triggered on February 28 after joint air attacks by the United States and Israel, and amidst complaints about the situation of women in the country. (Efe)
