March 10, 2026 | 08:09 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Five Iranian women's national team players were granted humanitarian visas in Australia amid fears of persecution back home.
"Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"They're safe here, and they should feel at home here," he added.
According to Albanese, all other members of Iran's squad are welcome to receive help, but it was up to them to accept the offer.
Australian police took the five Iran squad members from their hotel in Gold Coast, moving them to a "safe location" after their asylum requests.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who met the five players upon the completion of their humanitarian visas, said they were "excited" about their future lives in Australia.
"I don't want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief," Burke said.
Trump calls for players to be granted asylum
This came after US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Albanese about the players. Trump also posted on his Truth Social account that Australia should give the players asylum and that the US would take them in if Canberra wouldn't.
Trump added they'd be killed should they return back home.
The reason for the call was the fact that Iran's players received attention for not singing their country's national anthem ahead of their first Asian Cup game against South Korea.
Many believed the move was in criticism of the Iranian regime amidst the US-Israel war on the country.
Back in Iran, the Iranian national team faced criticism, with one state television commentator accusing them of being "wartime traitors," sparking worries over the players' safety.
The following game, against hosts Australia, the Iran players sang the anthem while saluting, a move many critics of Iran's Islamic regime believed they had been forced to carry out.
After Iran's elimination from the Asia Cup following their the loss to the Philippines in their third match, calls from around the world grew to make sure the footballers would be granted asylum in Australia, preventing them from facing the potential backlash and sanctions back in Tehran.
Read: U.S.-Israeli Bombing of Tehran Apartment Kills at Least 40
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