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Agence France-Presse

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 the Islamic Republic.
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 captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness 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.”
Albanese thanked Australian media for their “restraint”, hinting that news of the asylum bid had been held back until they were safe.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government had spent days in secret talks with the players, who were whisked to a safe house after leaving their hotel on the Gold Coast.
Pictures showed the players huddled around a table as Burke signed paperwork granting them special visas to stay in Australia on humanitarian grounds.
The players broke out into chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie”, Burke said, adding that the rest of the team would also be welcome to stay in the country if they wished.

It was not clear if the remaining players in the Iranian squad would fly home - or when they might leave Australia.
Trump was among the first to confirm five players were safely in the care of Australian officials, following a late-night call with Prime Minister Albanese.
He had hours earlier urged Australia to do the right thing, saying it would be a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if the players were forced back to Iran.
A presenter on Iranian state TV branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem before a match against South Korea last week.
Although they sang the anthem - an ode to the glory of the Islamic Republic - 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.
Pahlavi has billed himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocratic regime fights to survive.
The US and Israel bombarded Iran with heavy missile fire on February 28, killing Supreme leader Ali Khamenei with the opening salvoes of a war that now threatens to engulf the Middle East.
Politicians, human rights activists and even Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling had called for Australia to offer the side protection.
Crowds gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the side played their last match over the weekend, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran”.
Supporters surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “let them go” and “save our girls”. On Monday, members of the team were seen speaking on phones from their hotel room balconies.


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Australia grants asylum to 5 Iranian women footballers after anthem controversy

Iranian players warm up before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between Iran and the Philippines on the Gold Coast on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke with five Iranian players who were given asylum. Photo: Australian Department of Home Affairs via AFP 

Members of the team at their hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast on Monday. Photo: AFP

Iranian players pose for a photo before Sunday’s match. Photo: AAP Image via Reuters

Trump holds phone call with Putin to discuss ‘quick’ ending to Iran war

Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska in August 2025. Photo: Reuters

Smoke rises following an Iranian strike on the Bapco Oil Refinery on Sitra Island, Bahrain on Monday. Photo: Reuters

People attend a gathering in Tehran on Monday to support Iran’s new Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

Ships brandish China links to evade Iran’s attacks in Strait of Hormuz

Ships sit anchored in Muscat, Oman, on Monday, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Reuters

The Marine Traffic website shows commercial boat traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast on Wednesday. Photo: TNS

Nato intercepts Iran missile fired towards Turkey

Debris from a Nato air defence system that intercepted a missile launched from Iran is seen in southern Hatay province in Turkey on March 4 in this video screengrab. Photo: via Reuters

People in Izmir, Turkey, protest against US and Israeli strikes on Iran, outside a Nato base on February 28. Photo: AP

The Qatari Armed Forces launch interceptor missiles into the skies over Doha in a bid to intercept incoming Iranian missiles. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Video shows apparent US strike as Trump blames Iran for school massacre

A still image from video shows what appears to be a US Tomahawk missile hitting near the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, Iran. Photo: MEHR NEWS via Reuters



A satellite image shows the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School and other structures damaged after being struck. Photo: Planet Labs PBC via Reuters

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Some players did not sing their country’s national anthem before a match, sparking fears they might face trouble back home


Some players did not sing their country’s national anthem before a match, sparking fears they might face trouble back home.


Australia grants asylum to 5 Iranian women footballers after anthem controversy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some players did not sing their country’s national anthem before a match, sparking fears they might face trouble back home

Some players did not sing their country’s national anthem before a match, sparking fears they might face trouble back home