It looks like the Iranian women’s football team may be in trouble after remaining silent during their national anthem at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday. After their final defeat in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, supporters of the Iranian women’s football team crowded around their bus shouting at police to “save our girls” as it pulled away.
“We’re asking federal police, the government, Australian people, everyone. These girls are asking for help. They showing their hand, (the) SOS sign. This is very, very important. Their life is in danger,” Hadi Karimi, a human rights advocate and member of the local Iranian community said.
Karimi said supporters outside the bus could clearly see at least three players inside making the international hand signal for help.
“As a result of their brave act of civil disobedience in refusing to sing the current regime’s national anthem, they face dire consequences should they return to Iran,” Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah posted on X. “I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them any and all needed support.”
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Craig Foster, a former Australian international and human rights advocate, said “a vast range of organizations” had tried to speak with the women during their time in Australia but had been denied the opportunity.
“No athlete group should ever be effectively held hostage by their own member federation and denied access to external support networks,” he said.
“The first thing that the Australian football community is calling on them is to grant access to the players to safe, culturally appropriate support networks, so that they can privately and confidentially express if they are feeling unsafe and what they would like to see happen,” he said.
Athletes often carry the weight of national symbolism, yet they are also individuals with personal rights and vulnerabilities that deserve protection. Sporting events can become flashpoints that expose broader societal tensions, especially when participants are subject to severe consequences in their home countries for actions interpreted as dissent.
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Karimi, who’s also vice president of the Iranian society of Queensland, said supporters gathered outside the players’ hotel and when they couldn’t make contact them due to tight security, they sought help from local Australian police.
Providing access to confidential support networks, legal guidance, and culturally appropriate assistance can be essential for the physical and psychological safety of athletes caught in such situations. These considerations extend beyond a single tournament to questions about how global sports institutions balance competitive integrity with human rights obligations.
The exact degree of risk faced by individual team members if they return to Iran, and how authorities in Australia or elsewhere will respond diplomatically or legally, remain uncertain. It is also unclear how international sporting federations will adjust their policies or interventions in response to this case.