SYDNEY — Australia has granted humanitarian visasto five members of the Iranian women’s football team allowing them to stay in the country after their elimination in the Asian Cup. The women had been due to fly home, but supporters had raised fears for their safety after the team declined to sing the national anthem ahead of their first match against in the tournament last week. This prompted criticism in Iran, with one commentator accusing the team of being “wartime traitors” and pushing for harsh punishment. Immigration Minister Tony Burke told a news conference on Monday the women “were moved to a safe location” by Australian police. 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. “They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” Burke said, adding that talks had been going on over several days. 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 labeled as the “pinnacle of dishonor” 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!” “Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Earlier, Trump had called on Albanese to “give ASYLUM” to the team, which was knocked out of the tournament on Sunday after losing their last group game against the Philippines. He warned the Australian leader that he would be making a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if he allowed the team’s players to be “forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed”. Australia should “give asylum” to the women, Trump said in his initial post. “The US will take them if you won’t,” he added. The Trump administration put all asylum decisions on hold at the end of last year, and has stopped issuing immigrant visas for citizens from dozens of countries including Iran. It has said the administration wants to bring “an end to the abuse” of the system. Last year, two groups of Iranians — including people whose asylum applications had been unsuccessful — were deported from the US back to Iran. The groups reportedly included members of the LGBT community, who face severe legal and social repercussions in Iran. Albanese told reporters on Tuesday that he had a “very positive” phone call with Trump about the Iranian players. “I was able to convey to him the action that we’d undertaken over the previous 48 hours, and that five of the team had asked for assistance and had received it and were safely located,” Albanese said. “Assistance remains available for the other members of the team, but it, of course, is a decision for them. If they make a decision to ask for support, they will receive it,” he said. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said that five players who were in Australia for the Asian Cup had secretly left the team hotel with Australian police. The Iranian team’s participation in the football tournament started just as the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and at least 1,255 more people in more than a week of bombing. While the team did not sing the anthem ahead of their first match, they did sing it and saluted before their second match against Australia, sparking fears among human rights campaigners that the women had been coerced by their government minders, who had reportedly escorted them everywhere while in Australia. Burke said he met the women at their location and then signed off for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas — a process completed at about 01:30 local time on Tuesday (15:30 GMT Monday). “I say to the other members of the team, the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia.” “But we realize they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making,” the Australian minister said.On Sunday evening, hundreds of supporters surrounded the Iranian Lionesses’ coach as it left the stadium on the Gold Coast, with chants of “save our girls”. On Monday, there were dramatic scenes inside the team’s five- star hotel when several players left the lobby in a group after speaking to activists. Shortly after they departed, a second group including a translator and the head coach burst in looking panicked, and rushed through the hotel before returning to their rooms. In Sunday’s post-match news conference, the team’s manager Marziyeh Jafari said: “We are impatiently waiting to return. Personally, I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family.” As the players’ bus left the stadium on Sunday night, banners declared “Stay Safe in Australia. Talk to Police” and “If your home is not safe — mine is”. Some supporters went further, evading police and trying to impede the vehicle’s progress through narrow roads around the stadium. The players sat in the vehicle, watched the drama unfold in the rain outside. Some could be seen filming out of the window with phones. There were smiles and waves, but also solemn expressions. At least one passenger could be seen closing curtains on the bus window. Eventually, the bus made its way out onto the main road and towards the team hotel some 15 minutes’ drive away, leaving several supporters wailing and sobbing. On Monday, there was tight security at the resort, with federal police stationed outside reception and no sign of the team, although some members of the Iranian delegation sat in the hotel’s communal areas. Global football players’ union FIFPRO said earlier on Monday that there were serious concerns for the welfare of the team as they prepared to return home after being labeled “wartime traitors”. Elijah Buol, CEO of Australian nonprofit organisation the Asylum Seekers Centre, described the decision to grant asylum visas as a “compassionate and practical step that recognises the serious risks many Iranian people face if they are forced to return to Iran”. Australia’s humanitarian visa program grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need. Visa holders can live, work and study in the country. — Agencies
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