March 9, 2026

Trump urged Australia to grant asylum to Iranian footballers facing death penalty at home

US President Donald Trump urged Australian authorities to grant asylum to members of the Iranian women's national football team. Previously, they refused to sing the anthem before a match, and human rights activists believe they could face the death penalty at home. "Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian national women's football team to be forced to return to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Do not do this, Mr. Prime Minister, grant asylum," Trump wrote on his social media. He emphasized that if Australia cannot accommodate the Iranian footballers, the US will be ready to help them. Meanwhile, journalist Masih Alinejad reported that the footballers are already being taken by bus to the airport, where a plane to Iran awaits them. According to her, the athletes are showing an SOS signal through the window. "I urge the Australian government to help them. Do not send them back into danger. Please provide them protection," Alinejad wrote. The Iranian women's national football team refused to sing the national anthem at an AFC Cup match against South Korea on March 2. The captain and several players smiled during the anthem but remained silent. Social media users suggested that the women were protesting the current regime in Iran amidst the ongoing war. Iranian state television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi called the actions of the women's football team "the height of dishonor" and the women themselves "traitors in wartime." Human rights activists believe the athletes face charges of treason, which carries the death penalty. In the next two matches, the Iranian footballers sang the national anthem. It is presumed they may have been pressured. "These women are prisoners! Iranian guards are on duty on their hotel floor at night. They are forbidden to leave their rooms. They are monitored during breakfast, when they get on the bus," said human rights activist Cyrus Jones. Meanwhile, CNN Sports reports that five footballers managed to escape from their hotel in Australia and are now safe under police protection.