Players appear to signal for help as activists seek protection in Australia
Updated ,first published
Members of the Iran women’s football team flashed what appeared to be an SOS hand signal from their team bus, while advocates called on the Australian government to do everything possible to allow them to stay in Australia.
The Iranian team, known as the Lionesses, played their final match of the Women’s Asian Cup in the Gold Coast on Sunday night and lost 2-0 to the Philippines.
Footage taken after the match showed at least one woman on the bus waving an international aid sign to a crowd of protesters outside.
The movement is performed by holding one hand up, inserting the thumb into the palm and folding the fingers over it.
A source in the Iranian-Australian community said activists went to the Australian Federal Police to request urgent protection for the women.
Iranian state television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi last week accused the team of failing to sing the national anthem before their first match against South Korea on Monday, branding them “wartime traitors” who “should be dealt with more harshly”.
Shahbazi’s comments raised fears that women could face persecution if they returned home, but trying to stay in Australia could also pose a risk to their loved ones in Iran.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who some members of the diaspora want to see return to lead the country, said in a message to his 2.1 million followers on X on Monday morning: “Members of the Iran Women’s National Football Team are under serious pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic. As a result of their courageous act of civil disobedience by refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they will face dire consequences if they return to Iran.”
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and provide them with whatever support they need.”
There are more than 46,000 people signed a petition Since Friday we have been calling on the government to ensure that no members of the team leave Australia while there remain credible fears for their safety.
Iranian-Australian community leaders wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Sunday, urging him to ensure women are fully informed of their legal protections in Australia.
Community leaders told Burke there were “serious concerns that Islamic Republic officials accompanying the team were closely monitoring the players and intimidating them, including by providing false information that they would be detained offshore and sent to a ‘desert island’ if they attempted to seek refuge in Australia.”
Moez Mousavi of the Australian Iran Council, human rights activist Minoo Ghamari and lawyer Sara Rafiee wrote: “Given these circumstances, we urge Australian authorities to speak to players individually and privately in a private setting, away from Islamic Republic officials or security personnel, to ensure they are informed of their rights and available means of protection.”
A spokesman for Burke declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the issues at stake.
More to come.
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