GOLD COAST, Australia — Five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were granted asylum by Australia after they were called “traitors” for refusing to sing their country’s national anthem at the Asian Cup tournament.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on social media Tuesday that the players had been granted humanitarian visas, The Washington Post reported.
“Last night I was able to tell five women from the Iranian Women’s Soccer team that they are welcome to stay in Australia, to be safe and have a home here,” Burke wrote on X.
Burke added that offers of asylum had been made to other members of the 26-player squad, The New York Times reported.
“Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts,” he said.
Last night I was able to tell five women from the Iranian Women’s Soccer team that they are welcome to stay in Australia, to be safe and have a home here. pic.twitter.com/2JQp9q9Z8W
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) March 9, 2026
Burke said the five women were moved to a safe location and their applications for the visas were finalized early Tuesday, according to the newspaper.
The announcement came after days of pleas by Iranian groups in Australia and at the urging of President Donald Trump, The Associated Press reported. The women had not spoken publicly about a desire for asylum.
The five players had declined to sing the Iranian national anthem before their match against South Korea last week, according to the BBC.
Burke confirmed the identities of the five players as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi, the news outlet reported.
“They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” Burke told reporters.
While the players did sing the anthem in their next two matches before they were eliminated from the event, Iranian state television announcer Mohammad Reza Shahbazi called them “wartime traitors,” according to the Post. He also demanded that the players should be punished for displaying “dishonor and betrayal,” the newspaper reported.
Australia’s humanitarian visa program grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need, the BBC reported. Visa holders are permitted to live, work and study in the country.
The Iranian squad arrived at the tournament in Australia before forces from Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the Times reported.
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