Five Iranian national team players have been granted humanitarian visas from Australia. This will allow them to remain in the country and not return to their home country, where they could be at risk after refusing to sing the national anthem during an Asian Cup match.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke Transfer BBC News reported that the players “were taken to a safe location.”
“They want to make it clear that they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” Burke said at a press conference.
He also mentioned the names of the football players who were granted asylum: Fatima Basandid, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atef Ramadan Zadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
According to him, other Iranian national team players were also told that they have the opportunity to obtain humanitarian visas. They have been allowed to remain in the country for the time being.
On March 2, the Iranian women’s national team played its first match in the Asian Cup tournament held in Australia. As the national anthem was played, Iranian soccer players stood silently, some smiling. It is not known whether the athletes acted in protest against the Iranian authorities or their disapproval of the strikes by Israel and the United States. At the same time, their actions in Iran were seen as a protest against the country’s authorities. In particular, the presenter of one of the government channels, Mohammad Reza Shahbazi, called for “severe” punishments for female athletes and described them as “traitors in times of war.” Human rights activists and fans subsequently called on Australian authorities to ensure the safety of the footballers, who found it dangerous to return to Iran.
Human rights activist and former captain of the Australian men’s national team Craig Foster noted that many Iranian athletes have families waiting at home, and some have children in Iran who may be in a vulnerable position. According to him, even if the players were offered to stay in Australia, many of them would reject the opportunity.