Dave Hunt / EPA
Iranian players on the bench during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup match between Iran and Philippines in Australia
Australia has granted asylum to five players from Iran’s women’s national football team, considered traitors in their country, after refusing to sing the Iranian anthem before a game.
The plot began when five athletes remained silent as the Iranian anthem playedbefore the first game of the Asian Cup against South Korea, two days after the start of the war launched on February 28 by the USA and Israel.
The attitude of the players (who, however, sang the anthem in the following games) was interpreted as a act of rebellionwith an Iranian state television presenter designating the players as “traitors in time of war”, representing the “height of dishonor”.
Many people called on Australia to guarantee security of the players, including the North American President Donald Trump.
After a conversation with the Australian Prime Minister on Monday, Trump indicated that the Australians “are already taking care of five of them and the rest will follow” but that some of the players feel they need to return to Iran because “they fear for the safety of their families”.
Reza Pahlavison of the last shah of Iran, also asked Australia to guarantee the safety of the players.
“The players of the Iranian women’s football team are under severe pressure and are threatened by the Islamic Republic,” wrote the son of the deposed shah on the social network X.
Second Zaki Haidarian Amnesty International activist, the players risk being persecuted if they return to Iran.
“Some of the team members have probably seen their families threatened,” the activist told the France-Presse news agency.
Australia has already granted asylum
However, the Australia granted asylum to the five players of the Iran women’s national football team.
The decision was taken by fear that they would be persecuted upon returning to their country of origin, the Australian Interior Minister announced on Tuesday, Tony Burke.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, fled the hotel during the night.
“They were transferred to a safe location by Australian police. I have already signed their humanitarian visa application,” Burke explained to the press.
“They can stay in Australia, are safe here and need to feel at home”, added Burke. According to the Minister of the Interior, the Australian Government maintained secret discussions over several days with the players.
Officials in the country added that they were ready to help other members of the team if necessary, but so far, no information has been released about the future of the other players.
The 26 members of the Iranian delegation arrived in the country a few days before the start of the US and Israeli attacks, which resulted in the death of the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranians made their debut at the Asian Cup in 2022, in India, and became national heroines in a country where women’s rights are severely restricted.
