There is a growing sense of desperation and urgency within the Iranian-Australian community to hear from the Iranian women’s footballers before the team leaves Australia.
The Lionesses lost their final Women’s Asian Cup match on the Gold Coast last night, and while it is unclear when they are due to leave, there are fears they could face punishment when they return to Iran.
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The players were called ‘traitors’ on Iranian state television for not singing the national anthem before their first match, two days after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They subsequently sang and saluted the anthem in their next two matches.
Protesters surrounded the team bus as it left the stadium last night, chanting “Lion and Sun girls, we support you.”
Some knocked on the side of the bus saying “let them go”.
The lion and sun flag was used before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is used as a symbol of opposition to the current regime.
Supporters approached the Iranian women’s team bus after their final match on the Gold Coast. (PAA: Dave Hunt)
Hadi Karimi is a human rights activist based in Brisbane and participated in the protests.
“We surrounded the bus,” he said.
“We asked the police to save their lives; their lives are in danger.”
Mr Karimi was emotional as he spoke about the situation, pleading with the Australian government and the public.
“The world should stand with the Iranians now. I have received death threats in this country, in this city, because I am a human rights defender, because I am the voice of the voiceless. Australia, wake up now,” he said.
It was difficult for anyone to make direct contact with the players due to the presence of security surrounding the team.
Masoud Zoohori runs a Persian-language broadcasting service called Radio Neshat in Melbourne and follows the tournament.
He said he was in communication with the athletes until Saturday, but that they were under the strict surveillance of a person he claimed was an intelligence representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The ABC has contacted Home Affairs for comment.
The IRGC is listed as a terrorist organization in Australia and, under Australian law, anyone with known links to the service will not be issued a visa, and those with links while here will be deported.
“The girls are very worried; the girls are very stressed,” Mr. Zoohori told ABC News in an interview in Farsi.
“They’re scared. They didn’t sing the national anthem in the first game (and could be arrested when they get home).”
Iranian players did not sing the national anthem before their first match, seen as a silent protest against the regime. (Getty Images: Albert Pérez)
“They told me, ‘It’s like we’re in prison… we’re constantly under surveillance. We don’t hear from our family back home. They don’t let us leave the hotel alone. We’re under a lot of pressure.'”
He said that when he tried to speak to the athletes Friday and Saturday, hotel security asked him to leave.
“The girls had trouble speaking,” he said.
“They said, ‘We’re upset…they won’t let us go; we’re under constant surveillance.'”
He fears that athletes will now be sent to another country before being sent to Iran. Flights to Iran have been halted because of the war.
Marziyeh Jafari spoke last night after the team’s final match. (Getty Images: Albert Pérez)
Coach says ‘we want to come back to Iran’
Iranian coach Marziyeh Jafari, who carefully guarded his comments throughout the tournament, shared his thoughts after the match.
“We want to return to Iran as soon as possible, and I want to be with my country and with all Iranians in Iran. We look forward to returning as soon as possible,” she said, speaking through an interpreter.
Reza Pahlavi is the exiled crown prince of Iran, considered a rallying but sometimes polarizing figure for opponents of the Iranian regime.
He posted on social media that team members were under “significant pressure and constant threat from the Islamic Republic.”
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and provide them with all necessary support,” he wrote.
Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, an outspoken critic of the regime, also added her voice to these calls.
“These athletes are victims of transnational repression. They are threatened not only with their own lives but also with those of their families in Iran,” she wrote on social media.
“We are calling on the Australian government to break the circle of security agents surrounding these women.
“Make sure they have a safe space to express themselves freely without the presence of regime ‘gatekeepers.’
“Prevent the forced return of any player forced to board a flight into harm’s way.
“Australia, don’t witness a kidnapping on your own soil. Protect them!”
Talking to ABC Insiders this weekendForeign Minister Penny Wong said “we stand in solidarity” with the Iranian people, but would not comment specifically on the team’s situation.
Over the weekend, a group of Iranian Australians launched a petition calling on the government to protect the players.
Many people ABC spoke with say it’s important to understand that players may not want to seek asylum, due to reported pressures on their families if they don’t return.
Fans wave the lion and sun flag during one of Iran’s matches at the Women’s Asian Cup. (Getty Images: Albert Pérez)
Kate is a member of the Iranian diaspora in Australia, who did not want to share her real name for fear of reprisals against her family in Iran.
“If something happens to our family, we can’t live with ourselves. We can’t force (the players) to stay (in Australia). Just give them the option,” she said.
Kate told the ABC that the Islamic Republic’s regime was an “advanced cancer” that had been hidden for 47 years.
“(The regime) played the game well; it did everything it could to appear normal to the rest of the world,” she said.
FIFA and AFC working to ensure player safety
The global organization representing professional footballers, FIFPRO, says it has not been able to contact the players directly, but FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are currently involved.
The players saluted and sang the anthem before their matches against Australia and the Philippines. (Getty Images: Albert Pérez)
“We are here to support in every way possible and to ensure that we continue to put the interests of the players first and ensure that their safety is everyone’s top priority at this time,” said FIFPRO Asia/Oceania President Beau Busch.
“And we’re happy that that’s the case at the moment, but we have to keep working to get the best possible result.”
Mr Busch said FIFPRO was also in contact with the Australian government.
“We asked them to work on player free will,” he said.
“There may be players who want to come back. There may be players within the group who would like to seek asylum, who would like to stay longer in Australia.
It was difficult for anyone to hear directly from the players. (Getty Images: Albert Pérez)
“There may be some who are incredibly concerned about the possible return trip.”
FIFA and the AFC did not respond to requests for comment.
The ABC also contacted the AFC over an issue raised by Radio Neshat’s Mr Zoohori over the way he was treated at the press conference after Iran played the Matildas.
This was the game in which the players sang and saluted the anthem, after remaining silent.
“The AFC told me before the press conference: ‘You can only ask questions about sport,'” he said.
“But as a journalist, they can’t tell me what to ask and what not to ask.”
He said he tried to ask his question in Farsi.
“They are not soldiers, and the AFC did not let me finish my question and took the microphone from me,” he said.
Mr Zoohori said that the day before the press conference, Iranian state television had broadcast a program saying that upon their return to Iran, the athletes would have to appear before a “war court”, officially known as the Islamic Revolutionary Court, because the the players did not sing the Iranian national anthem in the first match.
“And going to a war tribunal means they (could) be executed,” he said.
