Australia has appealed for help for the Iranian women’s football team, branded “traitors” at home, after their exit from the Asian Cup.

Australian authorities are being urged to help Iran’s women’s soccer team after they were kicked out of the Asian Cup, amid fears of what could happen to them if they fly home as planned during the day. US-Israel war with Iran.

Before their first game of the tournament in Australia, against South Korea, the players refused to sing or salute their country’s national anthem, prompting the Conservatives to be severely punished and returned to Iran. The Islamic Republic’s state television network called them “traitors” and accused them of “the height of shame.”

“We are all very concerned for their safety,” Craig Foster, former captain of the Australian men’s soccer team and human rights lawyer, told CBS News of the BBC News network.

“If any team takes part in a competition controlled by Fifa, be it the Asian Football Confederation or any other confederation, they should have the right to safety and external support to express concerns they have about their safety now or in the future.”

In their next two games, the group played their own song. Alireza Mohebbi, the Australian correspondent for the Iran International opposition team, told Australia’s ABC network that the players could not have done that on their own accord.

“It is clear that the regime of the Islamic Republic, and the security team accompanying the Australian players, forced them to sing the song,” he said. “In the first match against South Korea, they did not do that, but now that there is pressure from the media that broadcasts the news around the world, it is clear that the government is not only pushing them to sing the national anthem but to salute the military. There is no doubt.”

After the match that ended the team’s exit from the tournament on Sunday, many Iranian fans who were carrying the flag of the Iranian dynasty before the Islamic Republic, surrounded the team’s bus when it left the Gold Coast stadium, chanting “let’s go” and banging on the side of the car, according to The Guardian newspaper.

After 15 minutes of blocking the bus, the local police intervened to stop the crowd of about 200 people from leaving the bus.

Other banners seen among the protesters read: “Stay Safe Australia. Talk to the Police” and “If your home is not safe – mine is safe.”

Some of the players inside the car smiled and waved, others took pictures – but at least one closed the curtains as the bus began the 15-minute journey back to their hotel.

Some of the fans who were left standing near the stadium in the net were crying.

It was not clear when the players would leave their hotel and where they would go next.

An Iranian community group and civil society organizations have contacted Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke outlining their “concerns” about the players.

“They were abducted by the leaders of the Iranian group from their hotel and denied the opportunity to talk to outside community members, friends, family or other support networks, be it lawyers or anyone else,” Foster, who helped a group of Afghan women flee the Taliban in 2021, told the BBC. “Some may have concerns, some may not – but what we know is that most of them have families at home, some of them have children at home, and even if they are offered the right to stay in Australia, if they feel unsafe, many of them may not accept that opportunity.”

“The most important thing is that that gift is made,” he added.