Fears grow for Iran’s women’s football team

What is the latest on the Iran women’s football team?

After their Asian Cup campaign ended on Sunday in Australia, the Iran team bus was surrounded by hundreds of protesters chanting “save our girls.” The players onboard were reportedly seen making SOS signs and photographing those outside. The bus went back to the team hotel on the Gold Coast but on Monday, there are widespread reports that five players escaped the hotel.

“Our understanding is that the players are currently staying in a hotel under heavy monitoring,” Zaki Haidari, on the scene for Amnesty International, told DW moments before the first reports of escape emerged.

“Their communications appear to be restricted, which has made it very difficult for human rights organizations, human rights lawyers and the media to make contact with them.”

FIFPRO Asia/Oceania, the union that represents players in the region, also say they have not been able to contact the Iranian players, with the organization’s president, Beau Busch, saying this was “incredibly concerning.”

The worries come after the players faced criticism for failing to sing the national anthem in their opening match against South Korea last week. They went on to sing the anthem and salute in their last two group-stage games. Most observers put the change down to pressure on the players from the Iranian regime.

The scenes of public support on Sunday are indicative of hopes in Australia and beyond that the players, coaches and support staff may be able to stay in the country rather than returning to Iran. But with the players unable to speak publicly, it’s unclear what they, individually or collectively, want.

After the match, Iran team manager Marziyeh Jafari said: “we are impatiently waiting to return. Personally I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family.”

But human rights organizations say it’s entirely possible that this is what she had to say in the situation.

Are the Iran women’s team in real danger?

They also say that those seen to oppose the supreme leader, now the slain Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, can expect serious reprisals, with women being in particular danger.

“We are deeply concerned for their safety if they return to Iran,” Haidari said. “They have been labeled ‘wartime traitors’ on national television simply for peacefully expressing their views. In Iran, that kind of public accusation can expose people to serious punishment by the Iranian authorities.”

The case of Navid Afkari,  one of Iran’s highest-ranked wrestlers, who  was executed in 2020 after being convicted of what many believe to be trumped up charges of murdering a security guard during anti-establishment protests, is one warning for the Iran squad. Many athletes were reportedly also killed in protests earlier this year.

Reza Pahlavi,  the exiled former crown prince of Iran who enjoys the support of some Iranians outside of the country, shared his fears on X.

“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 wrote.

Could the Iran women’s team stay in Australia?

There is no easy answer but Haidari said Amnesty International are “calling on the Australian government to ensure the players have the opportunity to seek asylum if they wish to do so… Australia is a signatory to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention and has an obligation to protect people who fear persecution in their home country.”

The Australian government has so far expressed support without committing to a course of action.

“We stand in solidarity with the men and women of Iran, and particularly Iranian women and girls,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the country’s national broadcaster ABC on Sunday, ahead of the team’s third match.

“Obviously this is a regime that has brutally cracked down on its people.”

The opposition Liberal party’s shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser, called on the Labor government of Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to provide asylum to those players who want it, and “not turn a blind eye to the danger these women face.”

Busch, from FIFPRO, said that  the Australian government, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) should “ensure that every bit of pressure is applied” to protect the players’ human rights.

But with the players’ positions, and in some cases whereabouts, unclear, it’s a tangled knot.

“It’s important to remember the enormous pressure the players are under. Their country is at war, they are worried about their families, and they are facing pressure from Iranian authorities because of their peaceful protest. Despite this, they have shown remarkable courage and have received strong support from the Australian community,” Haidari said.

The Asian Cup  continues without Iran but what happens to the eliminated team has become the most important story of the tournament.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold