Trump Urges Australia to Grant Asylum to Iranian Women Footballers Who Fled Team Hotel; Offers US as Alternative

Trump posted on Truth Social: "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. President DONALD J. TRUMP" He then posted again with a screenshot of the above tweet and wrote: "ASYLUM!" Earlier: Five players from Iran's women's national football team left their team hotel in Gold Coast, Australia and applied for asylum. IranWire had previously learned that more than 6 players intended to apply for asylum due to repeated threats directed at players and coaches. From Sunday evening (March 8), following Iran's women's match against the Philippines, the team camp became fully securitized — Football Federation security officers who had traveled with the team to Melbourne stood in front of hotel entrances monitoring players' movements. Security officers confiscated the players' passports on Sunday evening. As of the time of reporting, the following five players successfully left the camp and presented themselves to Australian police for asylum: Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefe Ramezanizadeh, and Mona Hamoudi. Sources indicate some players could not leave the hotel due to threats and the presence of security officers at the doors. IranWire also learned that some players chose not to apply for asylum — some due to concerns about their families, others due to fear of having their assets seized in Iran — and accepted the risk of returning. The Iranian women's football team players had refused to sing the Islamic Republic anthem in their first match against South Korea, in protest against the crackdown and killings during the Dey 1404 (January 2026) protests. IRGC-affiliated media called the players "traitors to the homeland." State TV host Mohammad Reza Shahbazi on Thursday, Esfand 14, called them "shameless" and demanded they be treated "like traitors in wartime conditions so others fall in line."