Updated ,first published
The head of Australia’s soccer players’ union says he is deeply concerned about the welfare of the visiting Iranian women’s team, as he revealed officials have been unable to contact the women about whether they would like to seek asylum in Australia.
Members of the team gave what appeared to be an SOS hand signal from their team bus as advocates pleaded for the Australian government to do everything possible to allow them to stay in Australia.
The Iranian team, known as the Lionesses, played their final match of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast on Sunday night, losing 2-0 to the Philippines.
Footage taken after the match shows at least one woman on the bus appearing to make the international help sign to a crowd of protesters outside.
The gesture is performed by holding one hand up, tucking the thumb into the palm, and folding the fingers down over it.
Beau Busch, co-chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia, said: “The reality at the moment is that we’re unable to get in touch with the players.
“That’s incredibly concerning, that’s not a new thing, that’s really been since the repression really dialled up in this – sort of February, January, etc.
“So we’re really concerned about the players, but our responsibility right now is to do everything within our power to try and make sure that they’re safe.”
Busch said it was important to ensure “a bit of pressure is applied to make sure that the players are safe, that they have some agency around what happens next, whether they’re able to stay here in Australia or if they do want to return, how we do that safely, and then obviously ensuring that they’re incredibly safe when they get back to Iran”.
Hadi Karimi, a Brisbane-based human rights activist, said he and fellow activists met with Queensland police late on Sunday night to urge them to intervene to protect the women.
“They are asking for help, their lives are in danger,” he said.
On Monday, a small group of protesters gathered outside the players’ hotel on the Gold Coast, demanding that the Australian government offer support to the Iranian players. It’s unknown when the team is due to leave Australia, but it could be in the next few days.
Mobina Fouladband, an Iranian migrant who moved to Australia to escape oppressive conditions, said the group had driven to Queensland from Sydney to support the team outside the Sunday night game.
“The Australian government should do everything that it can do,” she said.
“There is the war situation there, and there is the Islamic Republic. And honestly, I am more afraid of the Islamic Republic.”
Iranian state television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi last week accused the team of dishonour for not singing the national anthem before their first match against South Korea on Monday, branding them “wartime traitors” who must be “dealt with more severely”.
Shahbazi’s comments have heightened fears that the women could be subject to persecution if they return home, although trying to stay in Australia could also pose risks for their loved ones in Iran.
Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who some members of the diaspora would like to see return to lead the country, said in a message to his 2.1 million followers on X on Monday morning: “The members of the Iranian Women’s National Football Team are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic. As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran.
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support.”
More than 46,000 people have signed a petition since Friday calling for the government to ensure that no member of the team departs Australia while credible fears for their safety remain.
Iranian-Australian community leaders wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Sunday, urging him to ensure the women were fully informed about their legal protections in Australia.
The community leaders told Burke there were “serious concerns that Islamic Republic officials accompanying the team are closely monitoring the players and are intimidating them, including providing them with misinformation they would be sent to offshore detention to a ‘deserted island’ if they attempted to seek asylum in Australia”.
“Given these circumstances, we respectfully urge the Australian authorities to speak with the players individually and privately, in a private setting away from Islamic Republic officials or security personnel, to ensure they are aware of their rights and the protection pathways available,” Moez Mousavi of the Australian Iranian Council, human rights activist Minoo Ghamari and lawyer Sara Rafiee wrote.
A spokesman for Burke declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the issues involved.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.