Defection of Iran women's national football team

In March 2026, seven members of the Iran women's national football team and affiliated staff applied for asylum in Australia; five of them later withdrew their asylum application and indicated a wish to return to Iran.

During the March 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup tournament in Australia, the 2026 Iran war started shortly before the match between the Iran women's national football team and theSouth Korean team. Before the game, the Iranian team refrained from singing the anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which led to an IRIB presenter calling the women "traitors". Fearing reprisals on the women by the Iranian Government, the team was offered temporary asylum by the Australian Government, and five members were extracted from their hotel. An additional three later chose to stay, while another player and a staff member defected at the airport before their teammates left Australia. Three of the members who had chosen to remain decided to return to Iran on 14 March, leaving three remaining in Australia. On 15 March, a fifth Iranian player withdrew her asylum request. Iranian state media claimed the women had been subjected to psychological pressure while in Australia, while human rights activists said the women were pressured to reverse their asylum application by the government due to threats to their families.

The two players who chose to stay in Australia, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, started training with Brisbane Roar on 16 March 2026.