Trump urges Australia to give Iran players asylum

United States President Donald Trump urged Australia on Monday to grant asylum to the Iran women’s team — and said the U.S. would do so if Australia did not.

There have been fears the team could face persecution if they returned to Iran after they did not sing the national anthem before their first match at the Asian Cup in Gold Coast.

In normal circumstances their return home would be imminent, with the team exiting at the group stage after Sunday’s defeat to the Philippines, but local media reports say the players are still in Australia.

Reports circulated Monday that Australian Federal Police (AFP) had assisted five members of the squad in leaving the team base and entering a safe house following the team’s exit from the Asian Cup on Sunday.

The AFP and the Department of Home Affairs have so far not commented on those reports, but Trump has now applied pressure on Australia to take in the whole squad.

“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give asylum. The U.S. will take them if you won’t. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President Donald J. Trump.”

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

It was unclear what steps the Australian government was taking to help the team.

Trump also said that some players “feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”

Football’s world governing body FIFA said Monday it was in “close contact” with the Australian authorities concerning the team, saying their safety and security was FIFA’s priority.

The players did sing the national anthem and salute during their last two matches, but their decision not to sing it before the first game drew criticism from supporters of the Iranian regime.

Speaking at the organization’s general assembly in Sydney on Sunday, the president of global players’ union FIFPRO for Asia/Oceania, Beau Busch, said the union had been unable to make contact with the Iran squad, but that it was incumbent on FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the Australian government to ensure the players retained agency over their next steps.

“We’ve been asking [the Australian government] to work on the players having agency,” Busch said. “It’s a really challenging situation. There may be players who want to return. There may be some players within the group who would like to seek asylum, or would like to stay in Australia for longer. There may be some who are incredibly concerned about the potential journey home.”

The decision by the Trump administration and Israel to launch air strikes on Iran has prompted retaliatory attacks by Iran on Gulf states housing US military bases, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

That has created travel and administrative issues throughout the region which threaten to scupper Iraq’s hopes of playing in a World Cup playoff match in Mexico on March 31.

Iraq’s coach Graham Arnold has suggested playing the match against Bolivia or Suriname the week before the finals kick off in June, with the winning team staying in North America.

He told the Australian Associated Press (AAP) that would also allow more time for a decision to be taken on Iran’s participation in the World Cup. He suggested if they withdrew, Iraq could take their place and the UAE could replace Iraq in the playoffs.

Information from PA and The Associated Press was used in this report.