Five players from the Iran women’s national football team has secured humanitarian visas in Australia after quietly leaving their squad during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
The players slipped away from their team hotel on the Gold Coast and were moved to a safe location by police.
The women are Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi.
Safety fears grew after the team refused to sing Iran’s national anthem before a match against South Korea.
The rest of the squad later departed Australia, heading back toward Iran.
