All posts tagged: Iran women's football team

After airport drama, last-minute asylum offer, most of Iranian women’s football team leaves Australia | Football News

After airport drama, last-minute asylum offer, most of Iranian women’s football team leaves Australia | Football News

The Iranian women’s soccer team left Australia minus seven of its members, after tearful protests of their departure outside Sydney Airport and frantic final efforts inside the terminal by Australian officials who sought to ensure the women understood they were being offered asylum. As the team’s flight time drew nearer and they passed through security late Tuesday, each woman was taken aside to meet alone with officials who explained through interpreters that they could choose not to return to Iran. Seven other women earlier accepted humanitarian visas allowing them to remain permanently in Australia. Eventually, after what Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described as “emotional” meetings, no more women accepted the offers of asylum and the team’s flight departed Sydney with all remaining members on board. The tense and precarious nature of their decisions was underscored Wednesday when Burke announced one of the seven who had stayed behind would return home after all. “In Australia, people are able to change their mind,” said Burke, who had hours earlier posted photos of the seven women …

Branded as ‘wartime traitors’ at home, Iran women’s team salute national anthem before heartbreaking Asian Cup exit | Football News

Branded as ‘wartime traitors’ at home, Iran women’s team salute national anthem before heartbreaking Asian Cup exit | Football News

3 min readMar 8, 2026 06:37 PM IST The Iranian women’s football team was eliminated from the Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday after losing its final group match to the Philippines. What stood out during the game was that days after players of the Iran team were branded as “wartime traitors” on state television back home for staying mum during the national anthem, players not only sang, but also saluted during the national anthem on Sunday. The 2-0 defeat at Gold Coast Stadium on Sunday sealed the Iran team’s fate because they needed to defeat Philippines to keep their hopes of making it to the Asian Cup quarterfinals afloat. When the team had left Iran for Australia to participate in the Women’s Asian Cup, their country was not at war against the USA and Israel. The situation changed after the USA and Israel launched air strikes on ​their ​homeland on February 28, which resulted in the death of Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader ⁠Ali Khamenei. And despite the geographical distance between Iran and Australia, the players …