Five Iranian players given asylum in Australia

The incredible first words of five Iranian soccer players after they were granted asylum by the Australian government have been revealed.

The soccer players for Iran escaped their minders on the Gold Coast and are now seeking protection have been named.

Zahra Ghanbari, captain of the Iranian women’s national football team for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, along with Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi, made a dramatic escape from the team’s hotel on Monday night.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah of Iran, confirmed the women had escaped on Tuesday night on social media.

“These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran’s Lion and Sun Revolution,” he wrote.

Zahra Ghanbari, who has served as the team’s captain, emerged as a central figure in recent controversies regarding women’s rights in Iran.

She was briefly suspended in late 2024 and forced to apologise after her headscarf slipped off during a last-minute goal celebration in an AFC Women’s Champions League match for her club, Bam Khatoon FC.

Government Response

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed the five Iranian women chanted “Aussie Aussie Aussie” after being granted humanitarian visas overnight.

He said the same offer was on the table for the rest of the squad that remains on the Gold Coast.

“A lot of work has been going on in recent days to ensure we had the maximum number of opportunities for these women to know they could seek assistance if they wanted to,’’ Mr Burke said.

However, Mr Burke said they were not activists, but athlete who simply wanted to be safe.

He revealed he had been on the ground in Queensland to speak to the women since Sunday night.

“In the very hours of yesterday morning, the conversation started in earnest,’’ he said.

“During the course of yesterday, it was made clear there were five women who wanted to stay in Australia.

“They were moved to a safe location by the Australian Federal Police, and last night, I met with them at that location. I signed off last night for their applications to go onto Humanitarian Visas, and a little bit after 1:30am this morning, the processing was completed by the Department of Home Affairs.

“Can I finally thank the Australian media. There were many times during this period where we have had to ask the media for restraint, where reporting of different stories could some have an impact on the capacity of women to make requests.”

Why they didn’t sing national anthem

The Iranian women’s national football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, sparked international headlines when they did not sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea on the Gold Coast on Monday.

The incident was interpreted as a silent protest against the Islamic Republic regime.

There are reports that the women’s phones are tapped and their families are under threat if they claim asylum in Australia.

Culled from www.news.com.au