Iranian Team Faces Intense Scrutiny Ahead of Clash with Matildas

The Iranian women’s football squad, currently participating in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, is reportedly under strict monitoring and confined to their accommodations, according to insights from two sources.

An individual residing at the same hotel revealed to SBS News that the players are “essentially prisoners,” being closely watched by both Iranian security forces and tournament-assigned guards.

SBS News has not independently verified these assertions and has sought comments from Football Australia, Iran’s Football Federation, and the Women’s Asian Cup, but has yet to receive any feedback.

It’s not uncommon for Iranian security to accompany national teams at international events. However, amid ongoing US-Israel military actions against Iran and its subsequent responses in the Middle East, there are concerns from two sources that the Iranian regime might increase its control over the athletes to prevent any potential asylum attempts abroad.

The team is lodged at a Gold Coast hotel and recently faced off against the Matildas in their second of three group stage matches of the Women’s Asian Cup on Thursday night.

SBS News has contacted the hotel, which it is choosing not to name for player safety, for comment. They have not replied by the time of publication.

‘Not permitted to leave the hotel’

The source staying at the hotel said that the players are “not allowed to use the public restroom in the hotel”.

“They don’t eat in the restaurant. They have to eat in the conference room, they’re escorted once they get into the lobby and they made sure they go to the conference room and they don’t go anywhere else,” the source said.

“They’re monitored the whole time. They’re not free to walk around the hotel and talk to the public.

They said the Iranian players were staying across two levels of the hotel which had “very heavy security.”

They witnessed that other teams “can walk around freely and talk to whoever they want”.

Another source, who visited the hotel also confirmed similar observations.

“More evident than anything else was the level of the surveillance and control. None of the players was ever alone,” they said.

“Every few players were accompanied by an Iranian woman, or a member of staff, or a coach.

“No players were seen without supervision. My clear impression was that they are not permitted to leave the hotel, not for food, not for use, not even for a simple walk.”

In recent years, Iranian sports teams have usually been accompanied by security personnel to prevent them from leaving the hotel or speaking with the media without supervision.

In Australia, there is a rare precedent for athletes seeking asylum during sporting tournaments.

In 2023, Saeed Montazer Parchi, an Iranian athlete, left the camp during the World Transplant Games in Perth and applied for asylum in Australia. In a previous interview with SBS Persian, he also mentioned the presence of security forces with the team.

He’s understood to be still living in Australia.

In 2006, during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, at least 26 athletes claimed asylum in Australia, from Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Bangladesh.

SBS News has approached the Department of Home Affairs for comment on managing such asylum claims.

Pressure to sing the national anthem

Iran’s national team’s presence in Australia has been overshadowed by war in the country after the US and Israel started a joint military operation in the country on Saturday, after three failed rounds of negotiations aimed at stopping the country’s nuclear program.

Iran has responded by attacking Israel and US bases among other targets, launching strikes at 11 other countries in the region.

During Iran’s first game against South Korea at the Asian Cup, several players of the Iranian national team remained silent during the country’s national anthem.

This is a gesture widely interpreted as a protest against the Iranian regime, similar to actions taken by other Iranian sports teams in international tournaments.

A source told SBS News that they had overheard players being pressured to sing the national anthem, ahead of the South Korea game.

“They were told to at least mouth the words,” they said.

The Iranian team sang the anthem during Thursday night’s match against Australia.

SBS News has approached Iran’s embassy in Canberra and Iran’s football federation for comment, but has not received any response by the time of publication.

During a Sunday press conference before the South Korea match, Iran’s head coach, Marziyeh Jafari, was asked a question about the US-Israeli-coordinated killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader. She didn’t respond to the question, saying: “I don’t think we should talk about this topic now”.

On Wednesday, Iranian striker Sara Didar fought back tears as she expressed hope that her country would remain “strongly alive”.

“Obviously we’re concerned and sad at what has happened to Iran and our families in Iran,” Didar told reporters in Farsi.

Iranian support in the stadium

Farhad Soheil, an Iranian-Australian in Brisbane, booked his tickets for Thursday’s match against the Matildas last week.

“My wife and I love football, especially when it comes down to the women’s game … we just wanted to be there, just enjoy football and that was the first intention,” he told SBS News.

But with the war starting on the weekend, Soheil said he saw the match as another opportunity to show support for Iranians.

On Monday, during Iran’s match against Korea, some people chanted slogans against the regime in reaction to the war in the Middle East and the death of Khamenei.

“As the diaspora, we wanted to echo the voice of the Iranian people, and we saw that many, many people in Iran, because of the deaths of Ayatollah, are very happy, and we wanted to echo that voice,” he said.

“The war by itself is scary for the people … But I think basically this time is different, [it] is aligned with the people’s hope for the future in terms of having a free, democratic country.”

Earlier this week, politicians from both sides of parliament criticised memorials being held locally for Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who some Shia Muslims see as a religious figure akin to a Catholic pope.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters earlier today that “the world wants to see a de-escalation” in the conflict.

For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.