Australia grants asylum to five Iranian women footballers

Australia has granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women's football team who were visiting the country for a tournament when the Iran war began, Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said. The women were transported from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia "to a safe location" by Australian federal police officers in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time. There, they met with Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas was finalized, the minister told reporters in Brisbane hours later.Tony Burke confirmed Australia has offered humanitarian visas to five Iranian soccer players after Donald Trump calls PM Albanese. There were concerns for their safety if they returned home after they were labelled traitors on Iranian state TV for not singing their country’s national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast.
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 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.