The Iranian women's national football team players were waiting in fear for their lives since the first match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Their crime was that they did not sing the Iranian national anthem or give a military salute before the first match. Despite the pressure from the Iranian administration to sing the national anthem and give a military salute in the next two matches, the Iranian administration did not get angry with these footballers. Instead, they directly threatened them publicly, saying that strict action would be taken against them if they returned home. They would face extreme punishment.
The anger was mainly directed at the captain of the Iranian women's team, Zara Ghanbari. Because according to the Iranian administration, she was the one who led and incited the other footballers not to sing the Iranian national anthem. She and the other Iranian footballers were labeled as 'traitors and traitors'. At the same time, a host on Iranian TV repeatedly threatened that the female footballers would suffer if they returned home. Extreme punishment awaited them. The Iranian female footballers had been living in fear since they heard this. They could not speak out because the Iranian administrative officials were with them. However, at one point, with the help of local 'friends', they managed to contact the Australian government administration. That's when 5 female footballers including Zara Ghanbari sought asylum from the Australian government. The Australian government took timely steps to save the lives of these female footballers and granted them that asylum.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Brooke said in a press conference on Tuesday that the Iranian female footballers sought asylum from them due to concerns about their lives. They granted that asylum. These footballers are Ghanbari, Zara Sarbari Alisha, Mona Hamoudi, Atefeh Ramenejanizadeh and Fatema Pasandideh. The Australian Federation Police took these 5 footballers to a safe haven after taking them out of the hotel. They had already placed police and security guards at various points, taking advantage of the opportunity to take the 5 footballers out. That plan was successful. After taking them to a safe haven, the 5 footballers were granted humanitarian visas for women after passing through immigration at 1:30 am on Monday. After that, an atmosphere of jubilation was created. Many pictures were taken. The 5 footballers were seen being carried away by excitement and emotion. The words ‘Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi’ spontaneously came out of everyone’s mouths. These footballers are not only big-time players, but also good people. They will feel safe and secure on Australian soil from now on.
Four of these five footballers play for the Iranian club Bam Khatoon. They have won the Iranian Women’s Championship 11 times. Ghanbari played here before moving to Persepolis. In 2024, Ghanbari had to be in exile for a long time after her hijab fell off her head while celebrating a goal during a match. Now, Anton Ghanbari and his four teammates will be able to breathe a little more freely in the air in Australia.