Trump Offers Asylum to Iranian Women’s Soccer Team, Warns They Face Execution

Photo by: Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

President Donald Trump offered asylum to Iran’s national women’s soccer team on Monday in a Truth Social post warning they would “most likely be killed” if they return to their home country from Australia after being eliminated from the Asian Cup.

CNN has reported that “amid fears over their safety, five members of the Iranian women’s soccer squad have left the team’s hotel in Australia and are currently safe with police.” Last Monday, shortly after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, the players refrained from singing the country’s national anthem before a match in a “gesture they didn’t explain but one that was interpreted by some hardliners inside Iran as a sign of treason,” according to CNN. The players were reportedly forced to sing along in subsequent matches on Thursday and Sunday.

After the latter game, protesters surrounded the team bus and urged police to “save our goals,” and one activist claimed that three of the players made the international hand signal for help.

On Monday, Trump weighed in on the controversy by warning that “Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed.”

“Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t,” continued the president. “Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

The International Federation of Professional Footballers’ president for Asia and Oceana Beau Busch told reporters that “The reality at the moment is that we’re unable to get in touch with the players. That’s incredibly concerning. That’s not a new thing. That’s really been since the repression really dialed up in February, January,” and that “every bit of pressure” is being applied to keep the players safe.

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