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When Iran’s women’s football team refused to sing their national anthem at a tournament in Australia, it was a life-changing decision, as ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger reports
Six members of the Iranian women’s football team will remain in Australia after being granted asylum, the country’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, has confirmed.
Another member of the team had also been granted asylum, but she later changed her mind and planned to return to Iran.
On Wednesday morning, Burke announced that one player and a team staffer had joined five athletes who had decided to stay in Australia.
But hours later, the home affairs minister told Australia’s federal parliament that one of the women had spoken to her departed teammates and decided to return home to Iran.
The player spoke to the Iranian embassy and asked to be collected after being advised to by her teammates and coach.
As a result, the location of the other players who elected to stay in Australia was given away.
They were immediately moved to a different location, the minister confirmed.
The rest of the team left Sydney for Iran amid protests at their hotel and the airport, where Iranian Australians tried to stop the women from leaving over fears for their safety if they returned home.
Tony Burke with two woman from the Iranian women football team who were granted humanitarian visas, in Brisbane, Australia Credit: Australia Minister of Home Affairs via AP
Before boarding their flight, each woman was taken aside to meet privately with officials, who explained through interpreters that they could choose not to return to Iran.
The Asian Football Confederation confirmed on Wednesday that the remaining members of the team had travelled from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they were staying at a hotel.
In a statement, the confederation said, “The AFC will provide all necessary support to the team during their stay until their onward travel arrangements are confirmed.”
They added that the body would “continue to prioritise the welfare and safety of the players and officials.”
The team had been playing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
US President Donald Trump joined Iranian groups urging the Australian government to help the women after they were knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment and possible punishment by the regime for not singing the national anthem before their opening match.
Early on Tuesday, Australian federal police officers transported five of the women from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia, “to a safe location” after they made asylum requests.
There, they met Burke, where their humanitarian visas were finalised, the minister told reporters in Brisbane hours later.
The Iranian players salute the national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup match with the Philippines on March 8 2026.
“I don’t want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief,” said Burke, who posted photos to social media of the women smiling and clapping as he signed documents. “People were very excited about embarking on a life in Australia.”
Concerns were raised for the safety of members of the team following their defeat in the tournament after they were labelled traitors by members of the Iranian regime for staying silent during the national anthem at the beginning of their first match last week.
The women granted asylum were happy for their names and pictures to be published, he said. Burke added that the players wanted to make clear that they were “not political activists.”
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah, had also joined calls for the women’s safety to be ensured by the Australian government. He named the footballers who he said had fled the team for safety as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi.
Protesters block a bus believed to be carrying the Iranian women’s football team as it attempts to leave a hotel in Australia, March 10. Credit: Russell Freeman/AAPImage via AP
The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on February 28.
Iran’s head coach Marziyeh Jafari said on Sunday the players “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can”.
An official squad list named 26 players, plus Jafari and other coaches. Burke said the offer of asylum was extended to all on the team.
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During the tournament, the women had mostly declined to comment on the situation at home, although Iran forward Sara Didar choked back tears in a news conference on Wednesday as she shared their concerns for their families and all Iranians.
The Iranian team has drawn national news coverage in Australia after the players’ silence during the anthem before an opening loss to South Korea last week was viewed by some as an act of resistance and others as a show of mourning. The team hasn’t clarified.
They later sang and saluted during the anthem before their remaining two matches.
“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Tuesday. “They’re safe here and they should feel at home here.”
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