Members of the Iranian women's football team have been led through Kuala Lumpur airport by 'handlers' on their way home, following their participation in the Asia Cup in Australia where they refused to sing the national anthem. Regime officials issued the stark warning days after US President Donald Trump exhorted Iranian citizens to rise up and overthrow their government. Now, senior Iranian government and football officials have accused Australia of taking the asylum-seeking women's players 'hostage'. In bizarre comments to a media outlet affiliated with the country's notorious Revolutionary Guard, Football Federation Chief Mehdi Taj claimed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ordered police to stop Iranian players leaving the country. Taj said: 'The US president himself ... tweeted two tweets about a women's team [saying] "we welcome them and that they should become refugees".

Source: Daily Mail March 11, 2026 14:14 UTC