CNN
By Hilary Whiteman, Christina Macfarlane, Ben Church, CNN
Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Amid fears over their safety, five members of the Iranian women’s soccer squad have sought asylum in Australia and and are currently safe with police, a source told CNN Sports.
Members of the Iranian team, who’ve been playing in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, are at the center of growing calls for their exit from the country to be blocked for fear of persecution in Iran, their home country that’s at war with the US and Israel under a new hardline supreme leader.
It comes after the team remained silent during the national anthem before their first group stage match last week – a decision that many fear will be punished by the Iranian regime.
According to sports journalist Raha Pourbakhsh, at least seven players left the team hotel with five of those having now applied for asylum with the Australian Federal Police.
Pourbakhsh, who works for Iran International TV, told CNN that the families of three of those five players who are now safe with police had been threatened and said the whereabouts of at least two other players are unknown after they also left the team hotel.
CNN has reached out to Australian Federal Police and the Australian Departments of Home and Foreign Affairs for comment.
Pourbakhsh also added that Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, had his visa denied when attempting to travel to Australia to bring the team home with vice president Farideh Shojaei having to travel in his place.
In a statement on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said Monday that it would be a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if Australia allowed the team to go back to Iran and that the US would grant the Iranian players asylum if Australia did not. It comes after Trump’s administration imposed travel bans for Iranians only last year.
Trump then posted again, writing that he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and that five players had “already been taken care of” and that “the rest are on their way.”
How it all started
Before their first match of the tournament last Monday, the Iranian players stood silent during the national anthem, a gesture they didn’t explain but one that was interpreted by some hardliners inside Iran as a sign of treason.
Sources told CNN Sports they were forced to sing the national anthem ahead of their second match on Thursday, and on Sunday, ahead of their 2-0 defeat to the Philippines, they again sang the anthem and gave a military salute.
After the lo