Australia grants asylum to 5 members of the Iranian women's soccer team

Early Tuesday, police officers transported five of the women from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia, “to a safe location” after they made asylum requests. There, they met with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas was finalized.

“I don't want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief,” said Burke, who posted photos to social media of the women smiling and clapping as he signed documents. “People were very excited about embarking on a life in Australia.”

The women granted asylum were happy for their names and pictures to be published, he said. Burke added that the players wanted to make clear that they were “not political activists.”

Iran warns of possible impact on World Cup

Iranian state TV said the country’s football federation asked international soccer bodies to review what it called Trump’s “direct political interference in football,” warning such remarks could disrupt the 2026 World Cup, which begins in North America in June.

Naghmeh Danai said she was invited as a migration agent and member of the Iranian-Australian community to visit the women at a hotel Monday night and to reassure them about what was available to them in Australia.

“I told them that if you accept this offer, you will have a great future here. You will have more respect. You won’t be under a lot of suppression that you have been in your country. And they were thrilled,” Danai said.

“At the same time, it’s understandable that it was a very hard decision for them to make when they have family back home and when they just came here to compete,” Danai added.

Future remains unknown for 21 in squad and others

The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment. Iran’s head coach Marziyeh Jafari said Sunday the players “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can.”

An official squad list named 26 players, plus Jafari and other coaches. Burke said the offer of asylum was extended to all on the team.

A commotion erupted Tuesday afternoon outside the team's hotel as members of the public knelt or lay in front of the team bus.

The protesters, some wearing red, white and green clothing or holding pre-Revolution Iranian flags, tried to prevent the bus from departing the hotel, but it was delayed by only minutes. Some chanted “Save our girls” and “Please act now.”

An Iranian-born protester who sat in front of the bus, Hadi Karimi, said the demonstrators had attempted to create more time for the team members to talk to Australian authorities.

“We haven’t slept,” Karimi said, referring to the time between the team's last game and its departure. “We were there. That means it works. We did something.”

The women flew to Sydney Airport, where police evicted protesters from the international terminal before the team boarded an international flight to Kuala Lumpur, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The ABC reported that Burke had confirmed more members of Iran’s delegation have sought asylum in Australia, without giving details.

Burke's office did not immediately respond to the AP's request for confirmation of the Iranians' departure or comment on whether any additional women had opted to stay in Australia.

Burke was expected to provide an update Wednesday.

The home affairs minister didn't detail what threats the players faced if they returned to Iran. During the tournament, the women mostly declined to comment on the situation at home, although Iran forward Sara Didar choked back tears in a news conference Wednesday as she shared their concerns for their families and all Iranians.

The Iranian team has drawn intense news coverage after the players' silence during the anthem before an opening loss to South Korea last week was viewed by some as an act of resistance and others as a show of mourning. The team hasn’t clarified. Players later sang and saluted during the anthem before their remaining two matches.

“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters. “They're safe here and they should feel at home here.”

Asylum came during Trump's urging

Australia's announcement came after Trump on Monday in Washington called on Australia to grant asylum to any team member who wanted it. Earlier that day, Trump had lambasted Australia on social media, saying it was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the ... team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed.” Trump added: “The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”

Less than two hours later, in another social media post, Trump praised Albanese, saying, “He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.”

Iran's football federation said Trump's comments were “baseless and unlawful” and urged global football authorities to intervene.

Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref separately said: “Iran welcomes its children with open arms and the government guarantees their security.”

“No one has the right to interfere in the family affairs of the Iranian nation and play the role of a nanny who is kinder than a mother,” he added.

The president's offer of asylum represented something of a change for Trump, whose administration has sought to limit the number of immigrants in the U.S. who can receive asylum for political purposes.

Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand, and Rico from Atlanta. AP journalists Jon Gambrell, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report.