Trump says Australia has ‘taken care of’ some Iranian women footballers

Players’ union FIFPRO expressed serious concerns for team after criticism of them not singing national anthem before first match.Published On 9 Mar 2026United States President Donald Trump says that Australia has “taken care of” five visiting members of Iran’s women’s football team who potentially faced punishment upon their return home for not singing their national anthem.Trump, who is currently waging war on Iran alongside ally Israel, said on Monday that he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the “delicate situation” faced by the team after their participation in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Queensland and that Albanese was “on it!”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Crowd chants ‘save our girls’ at bus carrying Iran women’s teamlist 2 of 3Fear, uncertainty surround Iran women’s football team’s return homelist 3 of 3Iran women’s football team sing anthem, exit Asian Cup amid safety concernsend of list“Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return,” said the US president on his Truth Social network.Trump appeared to be making reference to the five players who had, according to local media reports, “broken free” after the event, held in Queensland’s Gold Coast, and were said to be under the protection of the Australian Federal Police, seeking assistance from the government.Australia’s SBS News said government sources had confirmed the reports, published late on Monday, adding that Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had flown to Brisbane to meet with the women.Earlier, the US president had called on Albanese to “give ASYLUM” to the team, which was knocked out of the tournament on Sunday after losing their last group game against the Philippines, warning the leader that he would be making a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if he allowed them to be “forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed”.