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Australia has agreed to provide visas to five members of the Iranian women’s football team, allowing them to stay in the country.
According to Al Jazeera, Australia granted footballers asylum after the threat that they could face punishment upon their return home for not singing the Iranian national anthem before their first match at an Asian Cup tournament.
Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke told a news conference on Monday that he had informed the five members “that they are welcome to stay in Australia, that they are safe here, and they should feel at home here.”
The Department of Home Affairs named the five team members as captain Zahra Ghanbari, midfielders Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali Alishah, Mona Hamoudi, and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh.
Burke said the remaining players on the Iranian team, which is visiting Australia for the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Queensland, are in a hotel on the Gold Coast.
He added that he had also offered the other team members the chance to stay in Australia.
The players’ decision to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem before their match against South Korea was labelled as the “pinnacle of dishonour” by a commentator on Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster.
The announcement to grant the players visas came after United States President Donald Trump, who is currently waging war on Iran alongside ally Israel, said that he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the “delicate situation” faced by the team, and that Albanese was “on it!”
