Ominous comments from an Iranian state television presenter about the national women's team at the Asian Cup affected the players psychologically and drove some ‌to seek asylum in Australia, according to women's national team coach Marziyeh Jafari. The tournament ‌in Australia started just as the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing ‌Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 'What I have asked of the ⁠federation is to pursue the matter, because it ‌affected ​our players psychologically, and we suffered the consequences. Australia this ​week granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian players who sought asylum during the tournament. 'Australian police called the players in ​several stages and sat down with them one-on-one ‌to (try and) persuade them to stay,' Jafari said.

Source: Metro March 14, 2026 13:49 UTC