‘Save our girls’: Crowds chase Iran women’s football team bus in Australia, demanding asylum

The Iranian women’s football team faced an unexpected crowd of protesters on the Gold Coast, Australia after their final match in the Asian Cup on Sunday (8 March). The crowd, composed largely of Iranians, chanted "Save our girls!" in a desperate plea to the Australian government as they held multiple flags of Imperial Iran, the official flag before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The calls for concern come after the team did not perform the national anthem before their first game against South Korea last Monday (2 March). While the players have since performed the anthem in two subsequent matches, the initial act of defiance remains a "pinnacle of dishonour" according to Iran’s state television.