Australia grants citizenship to Iranian women footballers

Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleFatemeh Pasandideh (right) is one of the players who has been granted citizenship (Getty)Two Iranian women's football players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, who sought asylum in Australia earlier this year, have now been granted Australian citizenship. Immigration Minister Tony Burke officiated their citizenship ceremony in Brisbane, with both players expressing profound gratitude and pride in becoming Australian citizens. The players had sought asylum after Iran dropped out of the Women’s Asia Cup, which Australia hosted, and subsequently joined Brisbane Roar in Australia’s elite A-League Women’s domestic competition. Concerns for their safety in Iran arose after they opted not to sing the national anthem before a match, leading to an Iranian sports commentator labelling them “wartime traitors”. The swiftness of their citizenship process, which typically involves a four-year wait for refugees, has drawn attention, with a potential reason being to enable them to represent Australia in football, and US president Donald Trump also advocated for their asylum. In fullIranian women footballers granted Australian citizenship after seeking asylumMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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