GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — Iran’s soccer team lost its final group match at the Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday and is having to consider returning to a country embroiled in war.
The United States and Israel launched war against Iran on February 28 after the Iranian women’s team arrived in Australia last month to compete in the continental championships. Teams eliminated in the group stage usually leave within a few days.
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Their silence during the national anthem before last Monday’s opening loss to South Korea was viewed by some as an act of resistance and by others as a form of mourning. The team has yet to clarify. But before the 4-0 loss to Australia last Thursday and the 2-0 loss to the Philippines on Sunday, players sang and saluted during the national anthem.
Following criticism reported in Iranian media, the Australia-Iran Council wrote to Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke urging the government to protect players in Australia due to concerns about player welfare.
It launched an online petition, which had more than 50,000 electronic signatures ahead of Sunday’s kick-off, urging Australian authorities to “ensure that no member of the Iranian women’s national football team leaves Australia while concerns about their safety persist” and to provide independent legal advice, support and interpreters.
During more than a week of preparations and games on Australia’s Gold Coast, Iran’s management and players have mostly declined to comment on the situation at home, although Iranian forward Sara Didar fought back tears during a press conference last Wednesday to share their concerns for their families, friends and all Iranians during the conflict.
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The online petition asks local authorities to ensure that any players seeking protection “are able to do so safely, privately and without interference” and to “make clear that Australia will meet its… humanitarian protection obligations to any player who is at risk of persecution or serious harm.”
“Silence is not a neutral stance when there is credible evidence that visiting athletes may face persecution, imprisonment, intimidation or worse upon their return,” the statement said. “The current wartime environment exacerbates repression, fear, and the risks faced by anyone publicly seen as disloyal by the Islamic Republic.”
Foreign Minister Wong Yin declined to comment on whether the Australian government had engaged with individuals, but told domestic media that Australia stood with the Iranian women’s team.
“It was really touching for Australians to see them in Australia and (the Australian women’s team) exchanging jerseys with them was a very evocative moment,” Huang told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday. “We know this regime brutally oppresses many Iranian women.”
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Iranian-Australian activist Tina Kordrostami, a local government member for Ryde Council in Sydney, told The Australian that Iranian players “need an opportunity, a safe space, an opportunity to really speak out about their needs and demands.”
“We can’t give them that space without help from the government,” she said.
Iran’s women needed to beat the Philippines on Sunday to keep alive their chances of advancing to the Asian Cup quarter-finals, which would have extended their stay in Australia by more than a week, but failed miserably in wet weather at the Gold Coast Stadium when Sara Eggesvik conceded goals in the 29th minute and Chandler McDaniel in the 82nd.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer