Australia granted asylum to Iranian football players who refused to sing the national anthem

Australia has granted asylum to five members of the Iran women's national football team who refused to sing the national anthem at the tournament. This was reported on March 10 by the Associated Press (AP), citing a statement by Interior Minister Tony Burke.

According to the newspaper, the police took the athletes from a hotel in the Gold Coast "to a safe place" after they requested asylum. A meeting with the Minister took place there, and the registration of humanitarian visas was completed.

"I don't even want to imagine how difficult this decision was for each of these women. But last night it was a joy, it was a relief. They were very excited about the opportunity to start a life in Australia," Burke said.

The head of the Australian Interior Ministry posted a photo of women smiling and applauding at the moment of signing documents. According to him, the athletes wanted to emphasize that they are not political activists, adds "Газета.Ru ".

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On March 2, the Iranian women's national football team did not perform the national anthem before the Asian Cup group stage match against South Korea. The players and coaching staff remained silent during the ceremony. After the match, the head coach of the Iranian team, Marzieh Jafari, and the players refused to answer questions about the political situation.

On March 9, US President Donald Trump appealed to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to grant asylum to the Iranian women's national football team. According to him, Australia would make a "terrible humanitarian mistake" if it allowed the Iranian women's national football team to be forcibly returned to Iran.

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