Football’s governing bodies and Australian authorities are being urged to ensure the safety of Iran’s women’s team as they prepare to fly home from Australia after being eliminated from the Asian Cup.
Hundreds of supporters surrounded the Iranian Lionesses’ coach as it left the stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday evening, with chants of ‘save our girls.’
Fears for Iran’s women’s team grew after they declined to sing the national anthem ahead of their first match against South Korea last week.
This prompted criticism from within Iran, with one conservative commentator accusing the team of being ‘wartime traitors’ and pushing for harsh punishment.
In their second match against Australia and then again in Sunday’s final game against the Philippines, the Iranian team sang and saluted during the national anthem, leading critics to believe they’d been forced to take part by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp accompanying them as part of the delegation.
Deniz Toupchi, who travelled to support the team for their final match, said of the decision to initially stay silent: “We didn’t expect it to be honest because we know it’s a really major [thing] to do.”
Midway through the first half, many also unfurled the Lion and Sun flag, which served as the official state flag before the Islamic revolution in Iran.
These had been snuck into the stadium in defiance of signs outside which said only Iran’s current official flag could be displayed.
With concern rising over the players’ treatment once they return home, there is a push to support the women to seek asylum in Australia, if they wish.
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.”
Australia’s government has so far resisted being drawn into the discussion.
On Monday, there was tight security at the five-star 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.
It is not yet clear when they will check out and move – either to different accommodation, back to Iran or to a third country.
“The Australian government should play a role of moral leadership here,” said Zaki Haidari, Refugee Rights Advocate at Amnesty International Australia. –BBC
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