Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have left their training camp and sought refuge in Australia after fears of “dire consequences” if they returned home.
Iran’s exiled crown prince said he had been told Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi were in a “safe location”.
US President Donald Trump said on social media that five of the team had “been taken care of” but indicated the others were returning home.
The Australian government had been under pressure to protect them after they were knocked out of the Asian Cup.
The players were reportedly criticised on state TV, with a commentator saying they had committed the “pinnacle of dishonour” for staying silent during the national anthem before their match with South Korea.
“Traitors during wartime must be dealt with more severely,” presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi said, according to Reuters news agency.
Some believed the team’s silence was an act of resistance, while others saw it as a show of mourning following the initial US-Israel attacks on their country.
The team has not made any specific comment on their stance.
They sang and saluted ahead of defeats to Australia on Thursday and the Philippines on Sunday, but there were concerns they had been ordered to do so.
The team failed to get past the group stage and players’ union FIFPRO said it was “really concerned” about their welfare and had been unable to contact them.
Dozens of people chanted “let them go” and “save our girls” as the team’s bus left the stadium on the Gold Coast after Sunday’s match.
Supporters said they could see at least three players making the international hand signal for help, according to CNN.
Mr Trump said on Monday he had spoken to Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about the matter.
“He’s on it!” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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.”
‘Ongoing threat’
Exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the US, earlier said the team faced an “ongoing threat” after their “brave act” not to sing the anthem.
“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,” he said on social media.
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support.”
The Australian Iranian Council previously urged the government to protect the players during their time there.
It launched an online petition asking authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain”.
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Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, declined to comment on whether the government had made contact with any of the team.
But she told Australian Broadcasting Corp: “It has been really moving for Australians to see them in Australia, and (Australia’s women’s team) swapping jerseys with them was a very evocative moment.
“We know this regime has brutally oppressed many Iranian women.”
