Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing Iran’s national women’s soccer team to be sent back home and called on Australia’s prime minister to give asylum to team members.
The Iranians’ campaign in the Australian-hosted Asian Cup tournament started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The team was eliminated on Sunday after losing 2-0 to the Philippines.
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”
Global players’ union FIFPRO said earlier on Monday there were serious concerns for the welfare of the team, as they prepared to return home after being labeled “wartime traitors” for refusing to sing their national anthem before a game.
The players’ decision to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem before their first match against South Korea was labeled by a commentator on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as the “pinnacle of dishonour.”
The team then sang the anthem and saluted before their second match against Australia, sparking fears among human rights campaigners that the women had been coerced by government minders.
Fans waved the pre-1979 Iranian flag, booed the national anthem and tried to prevent the team coach from leaving afterwards, chanting “Save our girls!” amid concerns for their safety after their anthem silence. More than 66,000 people have also signed a petition calling on the Australian government to ensure the players, who are on the Gold Coast in Queensland, do not leave “while credible fears for their safety remain.”
“Traitors during wartime must be dealt with more severely,” presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi said.
Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari has said they were keen to return home. “We are very impatiently waiting to return,” she said during a post-match press conference. Most of the airspace in the Middle East remains closedas a result of the war.
When asked about whether Australia would grant the players asylum, Matt Thistlethwaite, the assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade, said the government could not “go into individual circumstances for privacy reasons.”
Source link
