Israel asked Australia to grant asylum to members of the Iranian women’s soccer team on Monday after the players were labeled as traitors by hardliners for refusing to sing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic during the Women’s Asian Cup.
The women did not sing “Sorude Melliye Jomhuriye Eslamiye Iran” (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran), an ideological anthem focusing on the 1979 revolution, faith, and the Islamic state, ahead of their match last Monday.
However, CNN reported that they were forced to perform the anthem before their two subsequent matches in addition to making the Iranian military salute. The initial refusal prompted accusations of treason from hardliners within the Iranian regime and a global outcry to grant asylum to the players in Australia.
“I am writing to you with urgency and deep concern following appeals from members of the Iranian women’s national football team, who are seeking international assistance in order to avoid returning to Iran, a country where there is a real threat to their freedom and even to their lives,” Israel’s Innovation, Science, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel said in a letter to the Australian ambassador in Israel.
“The players have expressed profound fear of persecution, oppression, and personal harm should they be forced to return to their homeland. They are asking for the opportunity to live in safety, freedom, and dignity, fundamental values upon which the world’s leading democracies are built,” her letter continued. “These are courageous women who seek only the most basic right to live without fear.”
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing Iran’s national women’s soccer team to be sent back to the Islamic Republic and called on the Australian government to give asylum to team members, Reuters reported.
Pahlavi says five players safe with Australian police
Five of the players who travelled to Australia are in the care of the Australian police, according to a statement shared by Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and a source who spoke to CNN.
“We would like to inform our compatriots and the media that five players of the Iranian women’s national football team – Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezani-Zadeh, and Mona Hamoudi – have managed to leave the team’s camp and seek asylum in Australia,” they said in the statement.
A video filmed after the women’s 2-0 loss to the Philippines allegedly shows the players signing for help as their coach is being driven away.
Craig Foster, a former Australian soccer player and a human rights advocate, complained to international media that a large number of organizations had been denied the opportunity to speak with the players.
“No athlete group should ever be effectively held hostage by their own member federation and denied access to external support networks,” he told CNN.
Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.