Zahra Ghanbari, 34, the captain of Iran’s women’s national soccer team, is the latest Iranian women's team player to have ended her attempt to seek asylum in Australia and is returning home, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported Sunday. She is the latest of several players to reverse course amid concerns for their families as some now report that they have gone "missing."
Shiva Amini, an exiled former Iranian soccer player, said the decision came after “intense and systemic pressure on the players’ families” from Iran’s Football Federation. “Several of the players decided to go back because the threats against their families became unbearable and the intimidation was relentless,” she wrote on X.
The controversy began last week when seven members of Iran’s team at the Women’s Asian Cup refused to sing the national anthem, prompting backlash and threats. Their protest coincided with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The women were branded “traitors” at home, and observers fear the regime may target their families if the players stay abroad.
After international attention, including an offer from former President Trump to host them in the US if Australia denied asylum, five of the seven women have now opted to return. Australia Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the players “were given repeated chances to talk about their options” but faced “incredibly difficult decisions.”
Tina Kordrostami, a councilor in Ryde, Australia, told Fox News’ “Fox Report With Jon Scott” that the players were “heavily intimidated” by Tehran. “I know families have even been detained. I know family members are missing,” she said. She added that many Iranians inside the country have “given up on the West, and they are only relying on one another to survive this regime.”
Observers worry about the consequences awaiting the women. “We are very worried about them. We know for a fact that they will not be safe,” Kordrostami said.
Past incidents illustrate the risks. In 2020, wrestler Navid Afkari was executed after claiming he had been tortured and forced to confess to killing a security guard during a protest. That same year, boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, 30, was sentenced to death for allegedly participating in 2019 anti-regime protests. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence late last year, though it is unclear if the execution has been carried out.
Shiva Amini, an exiled former Iranian soccer player, said the decision came after “intense and systemic pressure on the players’ families” from Iran’s Football Federation. “Several of the players decided to go back because the threats against their families became unbearable and the intimidation was relentless,” she wrote on X.
The controversy began last week when seven members of Iran’s team at the Women’s Asian Cup refused to sing the national anthem, prompting backlash and threats. Their protest coincided with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The women were branded “traitors” at home, and observers fear the regime may target their families if the players stay abroad.
After international attention, including an offer from former President Trump to host them in the US if Australia denied asylum, five of the seven women have now opted to return. Australia Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the players “were given repeated chances to talk about their options” but faced “incredibly difficult decisions.”
Tina Kordrostami, a councilor in Ryde, Australia, told Fox News’ “Fox Report With Jon Scott” that the players were “heavily intimidated” by Tehran. “I know families have even been detained. I know family members are missing,” she said. She added that many Iranians inside the country have “given up on the West, and they are only relying on one another to survive this regime.”
Observers worry about the consequences awaiting the women. “We are very worried about them. We know for a fact that they will not be safe,” Kordrostami said.
Past incidents illustrate the risks. In 2020, wrestler Navid Afkari was executed after claiming he had been tortured and forced to confess to killing a security guard during a protest. That same year, boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, 30, was sentenced to death for allegedly participating in 2019 anti-regime protests. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence late last year, though it is unclear if the execution has been carried out.
