Protesters try to stop female Iranian footballers from being forced back home

A group of protesters in the Gold Coast tried again today to stop a bus carrying the Iranian women’s football team to the airport.

Other new footage appeared to show one of the players crying as she was slowly walked onto the bus by two others.

The team’s silence during the anthem before an opening loss to South Korea last week was viewed by some as an act of resistance and others as a show of mourning.

The team hasn’t clarified. They later sang and saluted during the anthem before their remaining two matches, but later, five members of the team escaped their hotel to seek asylum in Australia.

The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend, at which point head coach Marziyeh Jafari said the players want to come back to Iran as soon as they can, according to Australia’s national news agency, AAP.

But as their bus left, some of the team gave an ‘SOS’ hand sign to crowds outside their bus yesterday, prompting a group to stop the vehicle.

Groups of protesters surrounded the vehicle, allowing the five now refugees to escape and seek humanitarian visas.

One supporter near the bus came with a recording she said was of one of the players’ mothers, telling her daughter to stay in Australia.

Farak said she got the recording from a friend in Iran, and had planned to play it when the women’s team departed their connecting flight in Sydney.

‘I’m pretty sure if she hears this, she will want to stay,’ Farak told the Guardian.

Not all the players were able to escape to safety in Australia, however, with one player seen weeping as she was led onto the team bus.

On Monday, Donald Trump blasted Australia on social media, saying Australia was ‘making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the … team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed.’

Trump called on Australia to grant the team asylum, adding: ‘The US will take them if you won’t.’

Less than two hours later, in another social media post, Trump praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying, ‘He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.’

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