Trump offers asylum to Iranian women's football team after refusing to sing national anthem
One of the players could be seen gesturing the International distress signal with her hands from the team bus after their actions were condemned by the regime.
Donald Trump has offered asylum to the Iranian women's football team - after they refused to sing their country's national anthem.
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The protest, which took place during the team's match as part of the Asia Cup, saw the squad branded "wartime traitors" by the Iranian regime for refusing to sing before their first match against South Korea.
The Australian government had come under increasing pressure to protect the women's team after their silence was viewed as 'resistance'.
Five squad members from the Iranian national side are now said to have left the team training camp in Australia and have successfully sought refuge in Australia, the country's exiled crown prince said on Monday.
Now, Donald Trump has reportedly come to their rescue and offered asylum to the team, as he called out the Australian government ahead of their possible return back to Iran.
'Terrible humanitarian mistake'
He said in a post to his platform TruthSocial: "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.
"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."
Iran's players did sing the national anthem ahead of their second group match, against Australia, but were eliminated after losing to the Matildas in Perth.
Now considered an Iranian dissident in exile, former leader Reza Pahlavi's office said players Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi, have now been taken to a "safe location" by the Australian government following the protests.
Hundreds of protesters in Australia were seen to surround the Iranian team bus following the match in an attempt to stop them from leaving the country.
As crowds surrounded the vehicle, one of the team appeared to sign an SOS distress signal from her seat.
Read more: Iran women's football team refuse to sing national anthem before Asia Cup match
The son of Iran's ousted shah also joined calls to keep the women's side safe during their time in Australian.
Supporters surrounding the bus said they could see at least three players on the bus making the international hand signal for help.
Around 200 people surrounded the team's vehicle, shouting "let them go" as security attempted to push them back.
Later in the video, one player could be seen appearing to plead for help by signalling the international SOS distress signal from inside the bus.
The woman tucked her thumb into the palm of her hand and folded her fingers down over it, which is the globally-recognised sign that someone is pleading for help.
Everything that happened tonight in Australia and Iranian women’s football team.
— Throwback Iran (@Tarikh_Eran) March 8, 2026
The Iranian-Australian community gathered outside the stadium initially just to chant against the regime and show love to our players who days prior refused to sing the regime’s anthem.
As the bus… pic.twitter.com/6QHfe99bs9
Video footage on social media shows the bus driver trying to navigate the crowds. As the bus slowly accelerates away, protesters can be seen racing after it on foot.
The team were in Australia competing in the Asia Cup, where they lost their final game 2-0 to the Philippines on Sunday evening.
Presenter of Iranian state TV, Mohammad Reza Shahbazi sent a warning following the protest: "In times of war, traitors must be dealt with more harshly.
"Anyone who takes even a single step against the country during wartime must face stronger consequences."
🚨 Iran salute and sing anthem
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) March 5, 2026
The women's national football team made global headlines after not singing along during their opening Asian Cup fixture ⚽️
Now, they sang along and saluted during the national anthem ahead of their second match 🫡 pic.twitter.com/PIWBgtjXVG
Journalist Ali Bornaei tagged the foreign minister Penny Wong on X and wrote: "The lives of the Iranian Women's National Football Team are in imminent danger.
"After their peaceful protest in Australia, Iranian state-linked media has officially labelled them 'wartime traitors'.
"In Iran, 'treason' is a capital offence punishable by death. These athletes face arbitrary detention and execution if forced to return."
Following the backlash of the protest in their first match, the players chose to salute the anthem ahead of their second match against hosts Australia.
Sources close to Australian TV network SBS reportedly claimed the Iranian team had been under very strict surveillance during the tournament and were "monitored the whole time".
Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the team is due to fly to Turkey before returning to Iran via bus.
There are also reported fears that family members are being held hostage back at home, preventing players from seeking asylum elsewhere.
More than 46,000 people have since signed a petition calling on Australia not to allow the players to return to danger.
The petition states: "Australia is hosting this tournament … This is a moment for principled leadership."