After plenty of drama, most members of the Iranian national women’s football team returned home from Australia, where they were competing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. There were some players from the side who had initially sought asylum in Australia, before most of that group reversed their decision. Currently, two Iranian female players—Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh—have opted to take up Australia’s asylum offer and will remain in Australia. Both players are training with the Brisbane Roar club. Iranian media organisations beamed footage of the players entering Iran after landing in Turkey and taking a bus to the border. They were greeted by officials at the border, according to a report on The Associated Press news agency. The Iranian team’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign was eclipsed by the war their country was fighting against the USA and Israel, which began on February 28. Over the course of multiple days of air strikes, Israel and USA have eliminated many Iranian political figures, including the all-powerful Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. When the AFC Women’s Asian Cup began there was plenty of scrutiny on the women’s team, with their non-singing of the national anthem in the first game becoming a big talking point. The silence was cast as an act of resistance or protest by some commentators and a show of mourning by others. Back home in Iran, a commentator accused the players of betraying the country by not singing the national anthem. And while mostly players refused to answer questions about the war back home, they also started singing the national anthem from the second game. After the team was knocked out of the group stages, the Australian government came under pressure from citizens, advocacy groups and even US President Donald Trump to offer them asylum in their country rather than sending them back to their home which was being bombed. In this photo supplied by Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke’s office, the Minister Tony Burke, center, poses in an undisclosed location with five Iranian women soccer players who have been granted asylum in Australia. (Photo: Australia Ministry of Home Affairs) Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref last week dismissed suggestions the women would be unsafe if they returned home, saying the country “welcomes its children with open arms and the government guarantees their security”. (With inputs from AP)
Iran women’s football team returns home after AFC Asian Cup campaign
