Australia has granted five members of the visiting Iranian women’s football team asylum over fears they could face persecution for not singing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem, Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday.
“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,” Burke tweeted.
The immigration minister told local media that the women “were moved to a safe location” by Australian police. He said other team members had been told they too were welcome to stay in the country.
After being eliminated from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia on Sunday, members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were filmed desperately signing “SOS” through the windows of their team bus—held, according to reports, by Islamic Republic handlers assigned to prevent them from fleeing.
The crisis began at the team’s opening match of the tournament in Australia on March 2, when the players refused to sing the national anthem—a silent protest against the regime. According to reports, following that incident, the players and their families received threats and were warned of severe punishment upon their return home.
Senior figures in media outlets aligned with the regime called the players “traitors in wartime” and demanded harsh punishment. In Iran, the penalty for treason is death.
By the second match, the players were already singing the anthem and even saluting as it played.
Things came to a head on Sunday. Many regime opponents who had immigrated to Australia attended the team’s matches, and as the players left the stadium on their bus, fans noticed their signals for help. The crowd tried to block the road and prevent the bus from moving, but Australian security forces intervened.
As the bus carrying Iran’s women’s football team was leaving the stadium, the situation suddenly took a dramatic turn when from inside the bus the players began signaling “Help” in sign language.
— Throwback Iran (@Tarikh_Eran) March 8, 2026
This all started when they refused to sign the national anthem in their first game… pic.twitter.com/k2pVVPBiNb
U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on the drama on Monday in a post to Truth Social.
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian Women’s National Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” Trump said. “Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”
Trump also reposted a summary of the situation by Australian political activist Drew Pavlou, who said the women were being held under armed guard by Iranian officials in Australia. Trump captioned it: “ASYLUM!”
It was later learned that five of the team broke away from their handlers and sought asylum. Trump said he spoke to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying, “He’s on it!”
Some of the team will return to Iran, fearing for the safety of their families, Trump said. “In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation.”
A version of this article was originally published by Israel Hayom.
