Updated ,first published
Five female Iranian soccer players are being protected by police in Queensland after they made a daring escape from their team’s management to avoid possible deportation back home.
Many sources in the Iranian and Australian community said the women were receiving help after being separated from other delegates at their Gold Coast hotel on Monday night.
“The police have taken them to a safe place,” Hadi Karimi, a human rights activist from Brisbane, said. “It’s great, it’s amazing.”
Human rights activist Minoo Ghamari said he understood that five women had separated from the team and that they were interested in seeking asylum in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is expected to address the issue publicly on Tuesday.
The Department of Home Affairs may issue bridging visas to the women to allow them to remain in Australia while any applications for refugee status are processed.
US President Donald Trump urged Australia to protect the women’s team, saying the US would intervene if necessary.
“Australia is making a grave humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian Women’s National Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday night AEDT.
“Don’t do that, Mr. Prime Minister, give them AIDS. The United States will take them if you don’t want them.”
“Everyone is happy for the girls. They wouldn’t be safe if they went back home,” said Shahzad Shirkhanzadeh, an active member of the Iranian-Australian community.
He praised the government for acting quickly to ensure the players have the opportunity to seek asylum in Australia before being forced to return to Iran.
As news of the escape spread, members of the Australian Iranians danced and sang in the streets of the Gold Coast where they held a vigil for the team.
Protesters reported that Iranian officials were searching the lobby and grounds of the Royal Pines Hotel on Monday night.
The swift escape of the players could have major political implications as the hard-line regime in Tehran battles the United States and Israel to maintain power in the war that has spread across the Middle East.
Iran’s national television broadcaster Mohammad Reza Shahbazi last week he accused the team of being disrespectful for not singing the national anthem before their first match against South Korea on Monday, branding them “wartime traitors” who must be “dealt with more severely”.
Shahbazi’s comments have fueled fears that the women could be at risk if they return home, even though staying in Australia could pose a risk to their loved ones in Iran.
The head of the Australian Football Players Union previously said he was deeply concerned about the situation of the Iranian players, as he revealed officials had failed to contact the women if they wanted to seek asylum in Australia.
Members of the team gave what appeared to be an SOS hand signal from their team bus on Sunday night as lawyers pleaded with the Australian government to do everything possible to allow them to stay in Australia.
The Iranian team, known as the Lionesses, played the final match of the Asian Women’s Cup in Gold Coast on Sunday night, losing 2-0 to the Philippines.
Photos taken after the match show at least one woman on the bus appearing to sign international support to the crowd of protesters outside.
The gesture is made by raising one hand up, extending the thumb into the palm, and curling the fingers down on it.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whom some in the diaspora would like to see returned to lead the country, announced the escape in a message to his 2.1 million followers on Monday night, saying: “These five brave athletes, who are now in a safe area, have announced that they have joined the national Revolution of the Lion and the Sun”.
The lion and sun flag was used before the Islamic revolution in 1979 and is used as a symbol of opposition to the current regime.
This artist has chosen not to name the women recognized by Palavi at this time, as the situation is changing.
Earlier on Monday, he called on the Australian government to help the women, warning that they face “dire consequences” for their act of civil disobedience by refusing to sing the national anthem.
Beau Busch, co-director of Professional Footballers Australia, said on Monday afternoon, before the women fled: “The reality at the moment is that we cannot contact the players.
“That’s very concerning, that’s not a new thing, that’s happened since the crackdown happened in this – kind of February, January, etc.
“So we are very worried about the players, but our responsibility at the moment is to do everything in our power to try and make sure they are safe.”
There are apparently at least 20 women in the team, including the reserves, and it is unclear when the rest of the team are due to leave for Australia.
Iran’s airspace is still closed and when and how they will return home, and what consequences they will face, is still unclear.
Mobina Fouladband, an Iranian immigrant who moved to Australia to escape repressive conditions, said the group traveled to Queensland from Sydney to support the team out of Sunday night’s game.
“The Australian government should do everything it can,” he said.
“There is a state of war there, and there is the Islamic Republic. And to be honest, I am more afraid of the Islamic Republic.”
The plight of the Lions, who arrived in Australia just days before the US launched its first strike on Tehran on February 28, has Australians watching as they played their matches on the Gold Coast under the close watch of travel officials.
A parliamentary inquiry heard that their convoy included suspected members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
on friday, after Australia beat Iran 4-0The Matildas swapped jerseys with the Lions, and Australian captain Sam Kerr paid tribute to their fight and bravery.
More than 71,000 people have found it sign the petition since Friday calling on the government to ensure that no member of the team leaves Australia as fears for their safety remain.
Iranian and Australian community leaders wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Sunday, urging him to ensure the women are fully informed of their legal protections in Australia.
Community leaders told Burke “there are serious concerns that Islamic Republic officials accompanying the team are closely monitoring the players and threatening them, including falsely informing them that they will be detained on a ‘deserted island’ if they try to seek asylum in Australia”.
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect through X, Facebook or email address.
