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SYDNEY — Global players’ union FIFPRO says it expects FIFA, the AFC, and the Australian government to exert the leverage it has to ensure the safety of Iran’s women’s national team players, whose future has been cast into uncertainty amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the conclusion of their Women’s Asian Cup campaign.
Following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to the Philippines, Iran’s team bus was delayed from departing Gold Coast Stadium by a crowd of protesters — many aligned with the movement to install Reza Pahlavi, the son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was toppled by the Islamic Revolution of 1979, as the leader of Iran — who chanted “let them go” and banged on the side of the bus before being dispersed by authorities.
Speaking at the organisation’s general assembly in Sydney, FIFPRO Asia/Oceania president Beau Busch said the union had been unable to make contact with the squad but that it was incumbent on FIFA, the AFC, and the Australian government to ensure the players retained agency over their next steps.
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“We’ve been asking [the Australian government] to work on the players having agency,” said Busch. “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.”
Concern for the wellbeing of the players should they return to Iran has grown following their opening Women’s Asian Cup game against South Korea, in which they made global headlines by not signing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic, in similar scenes to the men’s side’s silent protest at the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
The side subsequently sang the anthem and saluted the flag of the Islamic Republic in their remaining fixtures, but this was paired with revelations that a regime-aligned conservative television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi had labelled them “wartime traitors” for not singing and that they should be “dealt with more severely.”
Closely monitored by security and handlers during their time in Australia, Iranian players have been restricted to speaking in officially mandated press conferences, during which AFC moderators have been quick to shut down questions that diverge from the games themselves. However, reports emerged on Monday that members of the squad wishing to seek asylum have been actively hampered from seeking the counsel of human rights lawyers.
“We know that the players are still [in Australia] at the moment,” Busch said. “Our responsibility now is to continue to work as hard as we can on the AFC, FIFA and also the Australian government, to ensure that every bit of pressure is applied to make sure that the players are safe, that they have some agency around what happens next.
“Whether they’re able to stay here in Australia or if they do want to return. How do we do that safely? And then obviously ensuring that they’re incredibly safe when they get back to Iran. That’s going to be really difficult, but FIFA has a statutory obligation in relation to human rights to ensure that they exert that leverage, and we expect them to do so.
“The reality at the moment is that we’re unable to get in touch with the players. That’s incredibly concerning. That’s not a new thing, that’s really been [the case] since the repression really dialled up [following protests] in February.
“So we’re really concerned about the players, but our responsibility right now is to do everything within our power to try and make sure that they’re safe.”
Players salute during the Iran national anthem ahead of Sunday’s Women’s Asian Cup against the Philippines in Australia. AFP
Vast swathes of airspace over the Middle East has been closed since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, to which the Islamic Republic responded with attacks directed towards U.S and Israeli bases across the region, as well as their allies.
Stuck in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq national team boss Graham Arnold has called for FIFA to postpone his side’s World Cup qualifying playoff scheduled for later this month in Mexico, citing the dangers to the majority of his squad that is stuck in Iraq.
“It’s an incredibly difficult situation,” Busch said. “Our work with the government has been to make sure that they do everything within their power to give the players a degree of agency in what’s a really difficult situation.”
Busch said that the situation facing the players’ union had flagged to organisers concerns surrounding the potential of asylum claims being made at the Women’s Asian Cup last month, but that, as far as he was aware, a human rights risk assessment had not been undertaken before the tournament.
“When we look back, a lot of this was foreseeable,” said Busch. “We were writing to the AFC and FIFA back in February. We were trying to make sure that this was on everybody’s radar. We know that we saw in the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, where there was a lot of discussion around the Iranian men not singing the national anthem. We knew that there was a significant challenge within Iran, with the regime, with athletes, etc. All of those things were known well before the tournament started.
“As we move forward, the situation’s only become more complex, with the bombings by the US and Israel. So we’ll continue to work with both. There’s a lot to be learned from where we ended up here, and there’s a lot that needs to be improved.”
