An undated photo released by Australia’s Department of Home Affairs on March 11, 2026 shows two more members of the Iranian women’s football team to claim asylum in Australia, player Mohaddeseh Zolfi (L) and support member Zahra Soltan Meshkeh Kar (3rd L), posing with their five other teammates who had earlier claimed asylum Fatemeh Pasandideh (2nd L), Atefeh Ramezanizadeh (4th L), Mona Hamoudi (C), Zahra Ghanbari (4th R), and Zahra Sarbali (R), along with two other local officials (2nd and 3rd R) in Sydney. Two more members of Iran’s visiting women’s football team have claimed asylum in Australia after they were branded “traitors” at home over a pre-match protest, the government said on March 11. (Photo by Handout / AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS / AFP) / —-EDITORS NOTE —-RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS” NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Two former Iranian women footballers said Thursday they were “proud” to have been granted Australian citizenship after being branded traitors at home for refusing to sing the national anthem before a game. Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were members of a group of seven from Iran’s delegation who asked for Australia’s protection following the high-profile protest during the women’s Asian Cup in March. With their demands for protection an embarrassment for Iran’s leaders but lauded by US President Donald Trump, five later changed their minds and returned home. Pasandideh and Ramezanisadeh stayed, however, and were granted Australian citizenship at a ceremony on Wednesday overseen by interior minister Tony Burke.
“Yesterday was a truly special and unforgettable day for me. I feel proud and deeply grateful to become an Australian citizen,” Ramezanisadeh said in a statement. “After everything we’ve been through and all the challenges we faced, this moment means more than words can express,” Pasandideh added. A week after seeking asylum, the pair was pictured smiling and training with Australian club Brisbane Roar, which on Wednesday congratulated the pair. “What they have been through since February is more than most people deal with in a lifetime,” a spokesman for the club said. “To see them arrive at this point is something everyone here at Brisbane Roar is glad to have had a small part in,” they added.
“Queensland is their home now. If they ever want to pull on a training top and come back out with us, the door will always stay open.”
The plight of the rest of the team remains unclear since their return to Iran. AFP reporters saw them cross into their homeland from Turkey on a bus wearing the national team tracksuits and with their hair covered.
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Soon after, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X that the players and their support team were “children of the homeland and the people of Iran embrace them”. By returning, they had “disappointed the enemies (of Iran) and did not surrender to deception and intimidation by anti-Iran elements”, he added.
AFP
