Two members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who claimed asylum in Australia have confirmed their pivotal refusal to sing the national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup in March was a protest against Tehran MELBOURNE, Australia -- Two members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who claimed asylum in Australia have confirmed their pivotal refusal to sing the national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup in March was a protest against Tehran. The first media interview with Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, 34, and Fatemeh Pasandideh, 22, since they abandoned their team to become refugees was broadcast Sunday on Australia’s “60 Minutes” current affairs program. "We just wanted to stand with our people.
I was scared at times, but I just tried to do what was right and say that no one should be killed just for protesting,” Ramezanisadeh told Nine Network through an interpreter. The team was criticized in Iran and branded as traitors in the media there for remaining silent when the Iranian national anthem was played ahead of their opening loss against South Korea on March 2. Some saw it as an act of resistance, while others interpreted it as a show of mourning following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on their homeland which began on Feb. 28.
The team offered no public explanation. The gesture led to demonstrators demanding the team be offered asylum in Australia before leaving Sydney on March 10. Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh said they were protesting Tehran’s brutal crackdown on nationwide demonstrations against Iran’s theocratic rule.
Ramezanisadeh said her silence “could have meant any form of torture” for her. I wanted to sing the anthem with pride and from my heart. But because of the situation in Iran, I really couldn’t do it,” she said.
Pasandideh said through an interpreter of her own silence: “My people put their lives on the line and they were killed. Doing that was the absolute least we could do for them.” Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said none of the team had been offered asylum at that time. President Donald Trump used social media to call for the team to be granted asylum and telephoned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the issue.
Albanese told Trump that four players and a team manager had at that stage accepted offers of humanitarian visas. Seven members of the team eventually accepted Australia’s offer of asylum, but all soon changed their minds except for Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh. They both now play for the Wynnum Wolves semi-professional soccer team in the city of Brisbane and were made Australian citizens in August.
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