Players avoid political questions at Asian Cup amid Khamenei death reports

Jafari’s response was not translated and the AFC media representative added: “Okay, I guess that’s it for your question. Thank you for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself”.

It would be naive to think that Iran’s players and staff do not have strong views about the atrocities inflicted on their own people by their own leaders for decades. And although it has been pulverized, this is not the end of the regime yet. This is not the end of the danger. For many female athletes in Iran, simply playing sports marks them as symbols of resistance.

In January, Khamenei’s unprecedented massacre of unarmed and peaceful protesters led to the death of Iranian women’s domestic league player Zahra Azadpour, who was killed by Islamic Republic gunfire in Karaj. The 27-year-old player, representing Mehregan Pardis Tehran, was called to the national team training camps.

So for the women’s national football team, which arrives in Australia out of welfare concerns and on the eve of its Asian Cup campaign opener against South Korea on Monday night, any comment or observation would mark an unprecedented departure from the safety of silence. It would be more than understandable to think this was too risky, especially with officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or those with close ties to the organization recently listed as a terrorist organization in Australia. may have entered the country as part of the delegation.

Ghanbari was only suspended by the Iranian federation in November 2024 after her headscarf fell off during a last-minute goal celebration in an AFC Women’s Champions League match. The star striker had scored the decisive goal that would take his club Bam Khatoon FC to the quarter-finals but was left out of the squad for breaching strict rules requiring female players to wear compulsory hijabs on the field. Ghanbari had to apologize for letting her hair down before she was allowed to rejoin the team.

Mandatory hijab is one of the many structural barriers to Iranian women playing football. But they followed the rules because it meant they could play, and playing meant they could experience historic moments like qualifying for the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup in India (the team’s first major tournament) and holding hosts India goalless (their first point) before losing to China and Taiwan.

Now the 68th-ranked country has qualified for the Women’s Asian Cup for the second time, which also means qualification for the Women’s World Cup, a tournament they are eager to compete in.

From the outside, all of this seems more important to the team and the Iranian fans than not playing to make a statement against the machine that controls everything. No doubt they are also playing to honor 23-year-old Melika Mohammadi, who died in a car crash alongside Bam Khatoon FC teammates Zahra Khajavi and Behnaz Taherkhani two months after playing against the Matildas in the 2023 Olympic qualifiers.

“In India in 2022, the group was a little easier,” Jafari said on Sunday. “Now we enter 2026 with more experience, but the group is tougher. But we want to show the potential of Iranian women in these matches.”

On Monday night, the crowd spoke on their behalf as the world’s 68th ranked team lost 3-0 to South Korea at the Gold Coast Stadium. A group of Iran supporters held aloft both Australian flags and the Lion and Sun Iranian flag, Iran’s imperial flag before the revolution, used by those opposing the Iranian government.

One of them depicted the last Shah of Iran, and fans chanted slogans supporting Reza Pahlavi in ​​the first half until a security guard approached and the flags were lowered. They returned just before the final whistle to shouts of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi”.

On the field, Iran’s intense defending and desperate tackles restricted the world No. 21 to a 1-0 lead in the first half, but they conceded two goals after the break. Despite the loss and lack of possession of the ball, Iran managed to get two shots on target.

Jafari said he was looking forward to his team’s second group match against Australia on Thursday.

“I know we have a difficult game ahead of us,” he said. “I think it’s fun to play a tough match because the players can gain a lot of experience for their future.”