Five Iran Women soccer players defect with help of police following Asian Cup in Australia

Five players have defected from the Iran women’s soccer team and are being cared for in a safe house operated by the Australian Federal Police.

Sources with direct knowledge of the event, speaking anonymously due to the ongoing danger faced by the squad, say that the operation occurred after Iran’s final match of the Asian Women’s Cup against the Philippines in Australia, with police assisting the five individuals in leaving the hotel early on Monday evening local time.

Sources added that the team had been made aware of their options by Australian government representatives earlier in the week. It was discovered that the five players were missing at the team’s scheduled dinner on Monday.

Following the United States-Israeli strikes on Iran and ensuing retaliation and military operations in the Middle East, the Iranian women’s side were labelled “wartime traitors” by state TV and seemingly threatened with repercussions on their return to the country after failing to sing the national anthem in their opening Asian Cup match.

The Athletic reported earlier on Monday that urgent talks had been taking place between FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation — which organises the tournament — and the Australian government over whether it was possible to extend the Iranian team’s stay in the country for their own safety.

Though a journey was expected to be complex owing to airspace restrictions in the Middle East, the Iranian team had been due to leave the Gold Coast on Monday, having played their final match against the Philippines on Sunday.

Iran have been competing in the Asian Women’s Cup in Australia since before the latest escalation of the war in the Middle East, arriving immediately before Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed by a joint U.S.-Israel mission on February 28.

The team did not sing the national anthem in their opening game against South Korea on March 2, in what appeared to be a protest against the Iranian regime. The men’s team did the same ahead of their opening game of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The women’s team sang the anthem and performed a military salute in both their following games, losses to Australia and the Philippines.

“Let me just say one thing: traitors during wartime must be dealt with more severely,” presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi said on state television in footage verified by The Athletic. “Anyone who takes a step against the country under war conditions must be dealt with more severely.

“Like this matter of our women’s football team not singing the national anthem, and that photo that was published and so on, which I won’t get into. These people must be dealt with more severely.”

Sources added that fears over the team’s safety have led to discussions at a governmental level over the weekend, with FIFA and the AFC both contributing to the talks.

The AFP did not comment when contacted by The Athletic. FIFA, the Iranian Football Federation, the Australian government and the AFC have also been approached.

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