Iran’s players sang the national anthem and saluted ahead of Sunday’s final women’s Asian Cup group match in Australia, after remaining silent earlier in the match.
Iran’s players stood motionless as they faced South Korea in their first match on Monday, two days before the United States and Israel began a war against Iran.
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But in the second game on Thursday, against hosts Australia, all Iranian players saluted and sang the national anthem on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
They sang and saluted again on Sunday against the Philippines as it rained on the Gold Coast.
There was no public explanation of their initial stance, but coach Marziye Jaafari said her team was “very concerned” about their families as the conflict intensified and that the players felt “completely disconnected” from their loved ones.
Iran lost to South Korea 0-3 and Australia 0-4.
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