Five members of Iranâs womenâs national soccer team slipped away from their hotel in Australia and sought Asylum after refusing to sing their countryâs national anthem during a recent tournament.
According to the New York Post, the dramatic development unfolded shortly after the team finished competing in an event connected to the Asia Cup.
Video circulating online captured the tense moments that followed when Iranian Handlers and team staff realized several players had vanished.
Footage obtained by âFox & Friendsâ shows anxious staff members â including Handlers, security personnel and coaches â rushing through a hotel stairwell in a frantic search for the missing athletes.
During the encounter, an Australian woman can be heard taunting the group as they moved through the building.
âYouâre in Australia now. Youâre in Australia, motherfâker,â the woman says in the clip while confronting two men and a woman wearing Muslim headwear.
âYou better run,â she continues as she follows them down the stairwell. âYeah, weâre going to get you now.â
âWhat cowards,â she adds.
At one point, she directs a comment toward the Iranian security presence.
âGet the fâk out of our country, IRGC,â she says, referencing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a major branch of Iranâs military.
The confrontation came after the athletes reportedly fled their hotel and contacted Australian officials seeking help to remain in the country.
The players had drawn attention days earlier during a match when they refused to sing Iranâs national anthem.
That act sparked intense criticism back home.
Iranian state media reportedly labeled the athletes âwartime traitorsâ over their decision not to sing.
Ultimately, five players from the Iran Womenâs National Soccer Team were granted Asylum in Australia.
Those players were identified as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
Two additional individuals â striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi, 21, and support staff member Zahra Solton Moshehkar â also joined the group in accepting an offer to remain in Australia.
However, the groupâs plans later shifted.
Australiaâs Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday that one of the two additional individuals eventually decided to return to Iran.
Officials have not publicly identified which person chose to go back.
The Asylum approvals allowed the remaining players to stay in Australia after their departure from the team hotel and request for government protection.
The situation unfolded just days after the tournament concluded, transforming what had been a routine international sports trip into a high-profile political moment involving athletes, government officials, and international attention.