Five Iran Women soccer players defect with help of police following Asian Cup in Australia
Five players have defected from the Iran women’s soccer team and are being cared for in a safe house operated by the Australian Federal Police.
Sources with direct knowledge of the event, speaking anonymously due to the ongoing danger faced by the squad, say that the operation occurred after Iran’s final match of the Asian Women’s Cup against the Philippines in Australia, with police assisting the five individuals in leaving the hotel early on Monday evening local time.
Sources added that the team had been made aware of their options by Australian government representatives earlier in the week. It was discovered that the five players were missing at the team’s scheduled dinner on Monday.
Following the United States-Israeli strikes on Iran and ensuing retaliation and military operations in the Middle East, the Iranian women’s side were labelled “wartime traitors” by state TV and seemingly threatened with repercussions on their return to the country after failing to sing the national anthem in their opening Asian Cup match.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/five-iran-women-soccer-players-131606998.html