Trump urges Australia to grant asylum to Iranian women’s soccer team after exit from tournament
President Donald Trump said Monday that the Australian prime minister is helping Iran’s national women’s soccer team after Trump urged the US ally to grant the players asylum rather than send them back to Iran.
The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asia Cup last month, before the war with Iran began. The team was eliminated from the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment. Iran coach Marziyeh Jafari on Sunday said the players “want to return to Iran as soon as possible,” according to Australia’s national news agency AAP.
Earlier on Monday, Trump criticized Australia on social media, saying Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the team to be forced to return to Iran, where they will most likely be killed.”
Trump called on Australia to grant the team asylum, adding: “If you don’t, the United States will take them.”
Less than two hours later, in another social media post, Trump praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying, “He’s working on it! Five are already solved and the rest are on the way.”
It was unclear what measures the Australian government was taking to help the team.
Trump also said that some players “feel they have to go back because they are concerned about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
Trump’s asylum offer represents something of a shift for the president, whose administration has sought to limit the number of immigrants who can receive asylum for political purposes.
Throughout the tournament, players have mostly declined to comment on the situation at home, although Iranian forward Sara Didar choked back tears at a news conference Wednesday as she shared their concerns for their families, friends and all Iranians during the conflict.
The team’s silence during the anthem before their opening defeat to South Korea last week was seen by some as an act of resistance and by others as a display of mourning. The team did not clarify. They later sang and saluted during the anthem before the remaining two games.