Five members of the Iranian national women’s soccer team who sought asylum in Australia a week after refusing to sing Iran’s national anthem before a match will be allowed to stay in the country, according to an Australian official.
“Last night I was able to tell five women from the Iranian Women’s Soccer team that they are welcome to stay in Australia, to be safe and have a home here,” Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Monday on X.
The soccer players had been staying in a safe location after fleeing their hotel, Iranian opposition figure and exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi said Sunday.
In a Monday post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
He added that Albanese “is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!” Before their first game of the tournament in Australia, against South Korea on March 2, the players declined to sing or salute their country’s national anthem, prompting calls for harsh punishment from conservatives back inside Iran.
The Islamic Republic’s state television network branded them “traitors” and accused them of “the pinnacle of dishonor.”
It Looks Like They Lied to President Trump
Australia said it would protect any of the Iranian women who wanted to remain in Australia but did nothing for the girls who didn’t manage to get out of the hotel room.
The following post is correct that most of the Iranian women’s soccer team returned to Iran amid reports of coercion, dragging onto a bus, and SOS signals. However, at least seven players sought asylum in Australia, with five granted humanitarian visas. Albanese did nothing to protect the others who were locked away in a hotel room with their Iranian captors.
Right now I’m sad as it seems that the Australian government lied to President Trump
At least one member of the Iranian women’s team was dragged onto the team bus against her will pic.twitter.com/BOkXx2C7an
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) March 10, 2026
