As Iran's women's football team departed the Gold Coast on Sunday evening, human rights campaigners in Australia confronted a wrenching reality: the players feared not only their journey home, but what awaited them when they arrived.
The Iranian Lionesses finished the AFC Women's Asian Cup winless aftera 2-0 loss to the Philippines at the Gold Coast Stadium. Yet their team's results paled beside the political drama consuming their tournament.Players of the Iranian women's football team sung and saluted during their national anthem before their final Women's Asian Cup match at Gold Coast Stadium in Australia, six days after their decision to remain silent during the anthem saw them labelled "wartime traitors" on state TV back home.
For those watching from Australia's Iranian community, the shift was chilling.The team had so much concern for their families and loved ones and all other people inside their country, which they were fully disconnected from. An internet blackout had made it near-impossible for players and staff to contact anyone back home.
The severity of their predicament became clearer as tournament details emerged.An internet blackout has made it near-impossible for players and staff to contact anyone, with coach Marziyeh Jafari thankful for the support they have received from Iranian Australians."We are so happy that Iranian Australians here support us," Jafari told Australian media. "Obviously, we have so much concern for our families and our loved ones and all other people inside our country, which we are fully disconnected from."
According to reporting from Radio Neshat, a Persian-language broadcasting service, the situation became even more dire. Masoud Zoohori, who runs the service from Melbourne, said he had been in communication with athletes until Saturday, but they were under strict surveillance by someone he alleged was a representative of the IRGC's intelligence service.Radio Neshat reported that when Zoohori tried to talk to the athletes on Friday and Saturday, hotel security asked him to leave.
As the tournament progressed, the team faced a choice that would define their return. Initially silent during the anthem before their opening match against South Korea,the Iranian team sang along to Mehr-e Khavaran (Eastern Sun) before their second defeat against the host nation on Thursday, sparking fears among Australian human rights campaigners that they had been coerced by government minders.
The implications of that choice were stark. Reports in Iranian state media warned that upon return,athletes would need to go to a "war court", formally known as an Islamic Revolutionary Court, because the players did not sing Iran's national anthem during the first match, and going to war court means they could face execution.
Brisbane-based human rights activist Hadi Karimi was among those at the stadium demonstrating support."We surrounded the bus," he said. "We asked police to save their lives; their lives are in danger." He appealed urgently to the Australian government."The world should stand with Iranians now. I have been threatened with death in this country, in this city, because I am a human rights advocate, because I am a voice of the voiceless. Australia, wake up now," he said.
International football bodies stepped in.FIFPRO said it had been unable to directly contact the players, but FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) were currently involved."We're here to support in any way we can and to make sure that we're continuing to put the players' interests first and making sure that their safety is everybody's absolute priority right now," FIFPRO Asia/Oceania president Beau Busch said.
The organisation faced a delicate task."We've been asking them to work on the players having agency," Busch said. "There may be players that want to return. There may be some players within the group that would like to seek asylum, would like to stay in Australia for longer. There may be some that are incredibly concerned about the potential journey home."
The complexity extended to the players' own desires. Members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia stressed that many players may not wish to stay, despite danger at home. "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," one community member told the ABC.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong offered cautious words of support."I want to say about the Iranian women's team that it has been really moving for Australians to see them in Australia," Wong said. She noted that the sight of Australian players swapping shirts with their Iranian opponents was "a very evocative moment". "It spoke to solidarity and the way in which sport can bring us together," she said.
What the government would actually do remained unclear.The ABC has contacted Home Affairs for comment. A petition asking authorities to protect the players had gathered more than 51,000 signatures, but no formal commitment had been made.
For now, the Iranian women's team remained in limbo. Flights to Iran had stopped due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. Their return home, whenever it comes, will be shaped not by their own choices on the football pitch, but by decisions made in rooms far from the Gold Coast.