The Iran women’s soccer team sang and saluted as its national anthem played ahead of the Women’s Asian Cup contest against Australia on Thursday, a contrast to the silence before its opening game.
The outcome was similar, though, with World Cup semifinalist Australia winning 4-0. The silence during the anthem before Monday’s 3-0 loss to South Korea was variously reported as an act of resistance or a show of mourning. The team didn’t clarify. But in a news conference on the eve of the game against Australia, Iran striker Sara Didar choked back tears as she shared the concerns of players and management for their families and loved ones amid the war in the Middle East.
The 21-year-old Didar was on the bench when Thursday’s match started in pouring rain on the Gold Coast, where Iran is scheduled to play all three of its Group A games.
The Iran squad and management have declined to comment on the military strikes or death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with head coach Marziyeh Jafari saying it was important for the women as professional players to focus on the tournament and try to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
The Iranians arrived in Australia well before the strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran last Saturday.
The change in approach with the anthem between games in Australia seemed to mirror the Iranian men’s team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The men didn’t sing the national anthem before their opening loss against England as turmoil overshadowed the start of their campaign. In their second game against Wales, the men sang along to the anthem and celebrated when they scored.
Iran was competing in that World Cup amid a violent crackdown on a major women’s protest movement that was spurred by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police.
On Thursday, there were Iranian supporters in the crowd of about 22,000 people at Gold Coast Stadium.
After another heavy loss, the Iranians need a big win over the Philippines in their last group game next Monday to have any chance of progressing to the quarterfinals and maintaining any chance of securing a spot at the Women’s World Cup next year in Brazil.
Clusters of protesters against Iran’s regime gathered outside ahead of the game.
Nasrin Vaziri, an Iranian Australian and long-time Gold Coast resident, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp she was there because she wanted to support the players.
“I think they are brilliant because they haven’t had many chances to play,” Vaziri told the ABC. “They are real people, even under pressure. We are proud of them. As a woman, I’m proud of them.”