Two members of the Iranian women’s football team who claimed asylum in Australia have confirmed that their refusal to sing the national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup in March was a protest against Tehran. In their first media interview since abandoning their team to become refugees, Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, 34, and Fatemeh Pasandideh, 22, discussed their decision on Australia’s "60 Minutes" current affairs programme on Sunday. "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 squad faced intense criticism in Iran, where domestic media branded them traitors for remaining silent ahead of their opening match defeat to South Korea on 2 March. At the time, the act was viewed by some as resistance and by others as a gesture of mourning following US and Israeli attacks on Iran that began on 28 February.
The team offered no public explanation at the venue. The silence prompted demonstrators to demand that the players be granted asylum in Australia before the squad left Sydney on 10 March. Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh explained that they were protesting against Tehran’s violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations opposing Iran’s theocratic government.
Ramezanisadeh said her silence "could have meant any form of torture" for her. "But at that moment, the only thing that gave me peace and a clear conscience was not singing it. 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: "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 confirmed that no members of the squad had been offered asylum at the time of the match.
"At that point, they had absolutely no information from us about the possibility of being able to stay," Burke said. "The silence of itself was deeply significant," he said. "The reaction was the volcanic moment." The situation escalated when US president Donald Trump posted on social media calling for the squad to receive protection, later telephoning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese regarding the issue.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
