(Adnkronos) – The Iranian women’s national team leaves Australia for Kuala Lumpur, where it will make a stopover before returning home, after days marked by strong tension and growing international attention, with appeals also from US President Donald Trump. For the “Lionesses”, whose story dominated the narrative of the Women’s Asian Cup, these were not easy hours: several players fear retaliation after being labeled by Iranian state television as “traitors to the homeland” for refusing to sing the national anthem in the opening match against South Korea.
Meanwhile, according to ABC Australia, at least seven female footballers have sought asylum in the country, the last of whom reportedly decided just before boarding. Interior Minister Tony Burke explained that the offer of humanitarian visas has also been extended to the other members of the team and the delegation: “They are welcome to stay if they wish.”
The turning point came overnight in the corridors of the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, where the team was staying. Five players managed to evade the constant surveillance of Iranian officials and return to their rooms alone, while in the hotel lobby there was confusion among the delegation leaders trying to track them down.
The athletes were then transferred by the Australian federal police to a safe location, where they met the immigration agent for the Iranian-Australian community, Naghmeh Danai, who was called to assist them. During the meeting, Danai explained the possibilities of obtaining international protection. “They were under enormous stress, worried about their families and the assets they might lose in Iran,” Danai recounted, quoted by ABC.
According to Danai, the players had received misleading information from officials linked to the Iranian government and even feared the Australian police, due to the distrust developed in their country. After understanding the guarantees offered by the Australian system – including the possibility of working and receiving assistance – they decided to stay. The Department of Home Affairs then quickly initiated procedures for humanitarian visas, which can pave the way for permanent residency, work, and study.
Moments of great tension and emotion were also experienced at Sydney Airport, where hundreds of supporters – many part of the large Iranian-Australian community that had already filled the stands of the matches with symbols of the Pahlavi dynasty, the Lion and the Sun – gathered to encourage the players to remain in Australia. The team, which arrived on a flight from the Gold Coast, was escorted by federal police before boarding the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Among the videos that went viral on social media was one showing one of the players apparently being dragged by a teammate towards the team bus, while Iranian diaspora activists briefly blocked coach Marziyeh Jafari in an attempt to convince the other athletes not to leave.
With the exception of the seven athletes who sought asylum, the other players ultimately preferred to board the return flight, despite risking penalties ranging from long detention to the death penalty for the charge of “treason in wartime.” For the players who decided to stay, however, new prospects are now opening up. In addition to the protection guaranteed by humanitarian visas, some of them have already received concrete offers to continue playing, including the possibility of training with the Australian club Brisbane Roar.
