GOLD COAST, Australia (Kashmir English): Five players from Iran’s visiting women’s football team, including the captain, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim asylum in Australia on Tuesday.
The team members claimed asylum in Australia seeking protection after they were branded “traitors” at home for refusing to sing the national anthem, according to media reports.
Iranian players stood silent as the anthem played ahead of a tournament match in Australia last week, an act seen as defiance against their country.
US President Donald Trump was among those urging Australia government to offer the players asylum, citing grave concerns for their safety if they were forced to board a plane home.
Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel to claim sanctuary from Australian officials.
“We’ve been preparing for this for some time,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They’re safe here, and they should feel at home here.”
Australian PM thanked local media for their “restraint”, hinting that news of the asylum bid had been held back until they were safe.
Tony Burke, Home Affairs Minister, said the government had spent days in secret talks with the players, who were whisked to a safe house after they left the hotel.
Pictures showed the players bunched around a table as Burke signed paperwork granting them special visas to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds.
The players chanted slogans of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, Burke said, and added that the rest of the team members would also be welcome to stay in Australia if they wished.
It was not immediately clear if the remaining players in the squad would fly home — or when they might leave Australia.
Trump who was among the first to confirm five Iranian players were safely in the care of Australian officials following a late-night call with Prime Minister Albanese, had hours earlier urged Australian government to do the right thing, saying it would be a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if the players were forced back to Iran.
‘Wartime traitors’ in Iran
An Iranian state TV presenter branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood silent during the anthem before South Korea match last week.
Although they sang the anthem in later matches, human rights activists warned the damage was 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, the son of the late Shah of Iran.
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support,” he said on social media.
Crowds gathered outside the stadium where the Iranian team played their last match over the weekend, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran”.
