Players, including the captain, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim asylum
GOLD COAST: Five players from Iran’s visiting women’s football team claimed asylum in Australia on Tuesday, seeking protection after they were branded “traitors” at home for refusing to sing the national anthem.
Iranian players fell silent as the anthem played ahead of a tournament match in Australia last week, an act seen as a symbol of defiance against their country.
US President Donald Trump was among those urging Australia to offer the players asylum, citing grave fears for their safety if they were forced to board a plane home.
Five players, including team captain Zahra Ghanbari, quietly left their team hotel under the cover of night to seek protection from Australian authorities.
“We’ve been preparing for this for some time,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“Australians have been deeply moved by the courage of these women. They are safe here and should feel at home,” he added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked Australian media for exercising “restraint,” suggesting that news of the asylum request had been withheld until the players were safely out of harm’s way.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke added that the government had conducted days of confidential talks with the players, who were then taken to a secure location after leaving their hotel on the Gold Coast.
Photos showed the five players gathered around a table as Tony Burke signed paperwork granting them special visas to remain in Australia on humanitarian grounds.
The players reportedly broke into chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,” with Burke adding that the rest of the Iranian squad would also be welcome to stay in the country if they chose to do so.
It remains unclear whether the remaining members of the team will return to Iran or when they might leave Australia.
US President Donald Trump was among the first international leaders to confirm that the five players were safely in Australian care, following a late-night call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Hours earlier, Trump had urged Australia to act, warning it would be a “terrible humanitarian mistake” to force the players back to Iran.
The asylum move comes after Iranian state television labelled the players “wartime traitors” for standing silently during the national anthem prior to a match against South Korea last week.
Although the players sang the anthem — a tribute to the Islamic Republic — in subsequent matches, human rights activists warned that the damage had already been done.
“The members of the Iranian Women’s National Football Team are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic,” said Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah of Iran.
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and provide them with all necessary support,” he added on social media.
Reza Pahlavi, who has positioned himself as a leader for a democratic transition to a secular Iran, continues to voice concern as the country’s theocratic regime faces ongoing unrest.
In the wake of recent tensions, crowds gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium, where the Iranian women’s team played their final match over the weekend. Supporters banged drums and chanted slogans including “regime change for Iran,” while surrounding the team bus, calling out “let them go” and “save our girls.”
Politicians, human rights activists, and even JK Rowling had urged Australia to provide protection for the team. On Monday, an AFP journalist observed members of the squad speaking on phones from their hotel room balconies.
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