The Iranian women\u2019s football team\u2019s participation in the Asian Cup 2026 in Australia came to an end on Sunday, but the team\u2019s journey at the tournament and in the country continues to create a stir after some of the players chose to seek asylum in the host nation.<\/p>\n
The tournament began on March 1, a day after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as about 170 others, including many other military and political leaders and a number of students of an elementary school for girls.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Tehran responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel, several military bases in the Middle East where US forces operate and at infrastructure in the region.<\/p>\n Iran played all their fixtures \u2013 on March 2, 5 and 8 \u2013 at the Gold Coast Stadium in Queensland, Australia.<\/p>\n When the team took the field for their first match of the tournament against South Korea, it was under great mental and emotional strain, with players choking back tears before the game.<\/p>\n The events that transpired between their opening match and their exit from Australia became a major talking point globally.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know so far:<\/p>\n Iran were placed in Group A of the Asian Cup, where they lost all three games and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament.<\/p>\n However, the players were in the spotlight even before the first match kicked off as they stood in silence while the Iranian national anthem played.<\/p>\n Three days later, the script was flipped when Iran played their second game of the tournament against Australia. This time, not only did the players sing the national anthem, but they also saluted it, prompting fears that they may have been forced to change their stance after receiving backlash in Iranian media.<\/p>\n When the Lionesses faced the Philippines in their last game at the Gold Coast Stadium on Sunday, the team repeated the sing-and-salute routine as the anthem played.<\/p>\n While neither the players nor the team management explained why they refrained from singing before the first match, fans and rights activists speculated that it may have been an act of defiance against the Iranian government.<\/p>\n Others suggested the players may have chosen to remain silent to pay their respects to Khamenei.<\/p>\n Following the first game, a presenter on Iranian state TV, IRIB, labelled the players \u201ctraitors\u201d and said they showed a \u201clack of patriotism\u201d by not singing the national anthem, adding that\u00a0their actions amounted to the \u201cpinnacle of dishonour\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me \u2060just say one thing: traitors during wartime \u2060must be dealt with more severely,\u201d Mohammad Reza Shahbaz said in a video circulating widely on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who takes a step against the country under war conditions must be dealt with more severely. Like this matter of \u2060our women\u2019s football team not singing the national anthem \u2026 these people must be dealt with more \u2060severely.\u201d<\/p>\n These comments prompted the global representative organisation for professional footballers, FIFPRO, to urge FIFA and AFC to \u201cundertake all necessary steps\u201d for the Iranian players\u2019 protection.<\/p>\n Members of the Australian Iranian community also stepped in, pleading with the Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to give refuge to the players.<\/p>\n During Iran\u2019s matches, the Australian government officials did not promise any action, but the country\u2019s foreign minister offered sympathy to the players.<\/p>\n However, on the day of the team\u2019s departure from Australia, Burke announced his government had offered all players and staff members the chance to stay back in the country.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Burke told reporters that five Iranian players had decided to seek asylum in Australia and would be assisted by the government.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are welcome to stay in Australia, they are safe here, and they should feel at home here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A day later, Burke confirmed that an additional player and a member of the team\u2019s support staff had received humanitarian visas in the hours before their departure.<\/p>\n However, one player, who previously chose to stay behind, changed her mind and decided to return to Iran.<\/p>\n The player, who was later identified as Mohadese Zolfigol, changed her decision on the advice of her teammates, Burke told the Australian Parliament.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had been advised by her teammates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After Iran\u2019s first game, five players approached Australian authorities with a request to seek asylum, according to Beau Bush, president of FIFPRO Asia Oceania.<\/p>\n \u201cFive players came forward to authorities, and they were granted humanitarian visas to be able to stay,\u201d Bush told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Australian media reported the team had been accompanied by Iranian government officials who were controlling their movements.<\/p>\n The hotel hosting the Iranian contingent was surrounded by local police at all times and was also frequented by members of the Australian Iranian community, who were pushing for the players\u2019 defection.<\/p>\n According to several reports, five Iranian players were seen interacting with the diaspora and a hotel security guard before exiting the hotel lobby as the police stationed outside watched on.<\/p>\n \u201cLess than half an hour later, two members of the Iranian delegation sprinted across the lobby and down a stairwell leading to the basement car park,\u201d a report in the BBC said.<\/p>\n \u201cA player and coach Marziyeh Jafari followed them.\u00a0The door at the bottom of the stairs was locked, so the Iranians retreated, looking stressed.\u00a0The women had gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister Burke later confirmed the police presence ensured the players knew they had an opportunity to escape.<\/p>\n The players who managed to escape with the help of Iranian rights activists were taken away by Australian police officials to a safe house, where they met immigration officials and signed the paperwork.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce immigration officials completed the processing of the women\u2019s humanitarian visas around 1:30am \u2060on Tuesday [15:30 GMT, Monday], celebrations broke out among those present,\u201d Burke told reporters, adding, \u201cconversations with the players about seeking asylum had been ongoing for several days.\u201d<\/p>\n FIFPRO\u2019s Bush, who was privy to the details of the players\u2019 asylum grant, said one more player and one staff member \u201ctook up an opportunity\u201d and were granted a humanitarian visa to stay in Australia for at least 12 months with a pathway to permanent residency.<\/p>\n \u201cOur understanding is that every single member of the squad was interviewed independently with the Australian Federal Police,\u201d Bush said \u201c[The players] were made aware of their rights and the support available to them. They certainly weren\u2019t rushed through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were interviewed independently and provided with support away from any Iranian officials to ensure that there was no pressure put on them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Bush, who is also the chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia, believes the players were under \u201cmassive pressure\u201d due to the events unfolding in Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that they would be concerned about their families back home, making it an incredibly difficult decision either to remain or to go back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bush explained that \u201ca longstanding history of repression of any dissident voices\u201d in Iran was a cause of concern.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that there have been issues with athletes, [some of whom] have been sentenced to death. So we\u2019re incredibly concerned about the wellbeing of these really brave women, [who have been] called traitors.\u201d<\/p>\n Bush said FIFPRO pushed the Australian government to ensure that the players had a \u201cdegree of agency\u201d and were able to understand their rights in a fashion where the accompanying Iranian officials were not able to put pressure on them.<\/p>\n Of the squad that travelled to Australia, 21 remaining players, head coach Jafari and other members of support staff left the country via Sydney on a long journey back home.<\/p>\n Amid the closure of the Iranian airspace due to the US-Israeli attacks, the players travelled to Malaysia, where they are currently in transit.<\/p>\n It is unclear when they will leave Malaysia and where they will\u00a0travel to, with Turkiye a likely option due to its road links to Iran.<\/p>\n Bush expressed concerns over the safety of the returning players and said their safety was FIFPRO\u2019s \u201ctop priority\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are making sure that FIFA and the AFC are putting as much pressure as possible on the Iranian authorities, outlining their expectations around safety to make sure they\u2019re not met with any retribution or retaliation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a significant challenge knowing that the air strikes are occurring all across Iran, so we are concerned about the safety of these women.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Prosecutor General\u2019s Office and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei have reassured the players that they will be welcomed back \u201cwith open arms\u201d.<\/p>\n Baghaei urged the players to \u201ccome home\u201d hours after five of their teammates sought asylum.<\/p>\n The Prosecutor General\u2019s Office said the players were invited back to the country \u201cwith peace and confidence\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese loved ones are invited to return to their homeland with peace and confidence, and in addition to addressing the concerns of their families.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Bush said the players\u2019 welfare body is not satisfied with public statements.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s encouraging to hear, but we\u2019re operating in a context here where for decades, athletes, players, and others have faced persecution for standing up for their most basic rights to peaceful protest, for freedom of speech.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to witness evidence that they are going to be looked after, that there is no malintent towards them. Our expectation is that FIFA, AFC, and everyone within the international sporting community continue to apply as much pressure to ensure that the Iranian authorities live up to that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n FIFPRO will look to work with the Australian government, human rights groups, and the Iranian community in the country to ensure the players have active support.<\/p>\n \u201cMy phone has been ringing off the hook over the past few days from people within the football community, human rights groups, lawyers, refugee advocates [offering] support for these women,\u201d Bush said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m already fielding calls from A-League clubs asking if the women would like to come in and train,\u201d he said, referring to the Australian football league.<\/p>\n Within hours of Burke\u2019s confirmation that five players had been granted asylum, a Brisbane-based football club offered them a chance to train at its facilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Iranian women\u2019s football team\u2019s participation in the Asian Cup 2026 in Australia came to an end on Sunday, but the team\u2019s journey at the tournament and in the country continues to create a stir after some of the players chose to seek asylum in the host nation. The tournament began on March 1, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Why didn\u2019t the Iranian players sing their anthem in the first match, but changed their stance later?<\/h2>\n
Why was the Iranian players\u2019 safety under threat?<\/h2>\n
How did the Australian government respond?<\/h2>\n
How many Iranian players took asylum in Australia?<\/h2>\n
How did the Iranian players escape their hotel?<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AFP__20260309__A2GF76C__v1__MidRes__AustraliaIranUsIsraelWarFbl-1773062347.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
Were the players under pressure to return to Iran?<\/h2>\n
How many players are returning to Iran, and where are they now?<\/h2>\n
What will happen to the players who are returning to Iran?<\/h2>\n
How will the six players be settled into the Australian society?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"