Iranian women’s soccer players Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh thanked the Australian government on Friday for offering a “safe ​haven” and said they wished to resume their sporting careers ‌after rebuilding their lives.

In their first public comments since being granted humanitarian visas, the players said in a statement that the compassion and support shown ​to them had provided them hope for a future ​where they could live and compete in safety.

“We wish ⁠to express our deepest gratitude to the Australian government, and ​particularly Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, for granting us humanitarian protection ​and a safe haven in this beautiful country,” they said.

Australia initially granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member from the Iranian squad ​after their Asian Cup campaign in Australia began just as ​the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.

Five of the group subsequently ‌changed ⁠their minds and decided to return home, leaving only Pasandideh and Ramezanisadeh in Australia.

The duo began training with the A-League Women’s team Brisbane Roar last month.

“At this stage, our primary focus is on ​our safety, our ​health and beginning ⁠the process of rebuilding our lives,” they said.

“We are elite athletes, and it remains our dream ​to continue our sporting careers here in Australia.”

Concerns ​over ⁠the Iranian players’ safety surfaced after several players did not sing the national anthem at an Asian Cup match, with Iranian state ⁠TV labelling ​them “wartime traitors”.

The rest of the team ​arrived home in Iran last month via the Turkish border after a fraught return journey ​from Australia.

-Reuters

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A disturbing investigation by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports arm of The New York Times, has exposed a major safeguarding crisis in women’s football after a coach who secretly filmed players undressing was allowed to remain eligible to work in the game outside his home country.

The report centres on former Czech coach Petr Vlachovsky, who used a hidden miniature camera to record at least 15 female players—some as young as 17—while they showered and changed between 2019 and 2023.

One of the victims, Kristyna Janku, said the scale and intent of the abuse only became clear when police invited her to identify herself in the footage following the coach’s arrest in 2023.

“You never think something like that can happen,” Janku said, describing her shock after seeing the recordings. “It was not by accident… he knew exactly what he was doing.”

The incidents occurred during Vlachovsky’s time at top-flight club 1. FC Slovacko, where he was regarded as a respected figure, having also coached Czech youth national teams and previously been voted the country’s best women’s coach.

The emotional toll on the players has been severe. Some reportedly vomited upon learning of the recordings, others left the club, while several sought psychological support. Janku, now playing in Poland, admitted the trauma has permanently altered her sense of safety.

A Czech court in May 2025 handed Vlachovsky a suspended one-year prison sentence, a five-year domestic coaching ban, and modest compensation of 20,000 Czech koruna (about $940) to each of 13 affected players. He was also found guilty of possessing child pornography material.

However, a major loophole remains: while banned in the Czech Republic, Vlachovsky is not currently prevented from working as a coach internationally, as neither FIFA nor UEFA has imposed a global sanction.

This has sparked outrage from FIFPRO, which is now calling for a worldwide lifetime ban. The union argues that failure to act sends a dangerous message and may discourage other victims from coming forward.

FIFPRO officials insist the case highlights systemic weaknesses in football governance, including the absence of a global database of sanctioned individuals, lack of mandatory safeguarding education for coaches, and inadequate reporting mechanisms.

“Despite being non-contact, this is still sexual abuse,” said FIFPRO legal counsel Barbara Mere Carrion, stressing the need for recognition of its severity.

FIFPRO’s women’s football director, Alex Culvin, criticised what she described as a lack of urgency from football authorities, arguing that women players are often not treated as priorities within the system.

The case has also reignited concerns about conflicts of interest within football governance structures. FIFPRO Secretary General Alex Phillips warned that federations may be reluctant to investigate their own officials, while global bodies face political pressures tied to elections and internal alliances.

Although FIFA says it has introduced safeguarding reforms, including a confidential reporting platform and a newly approved comprehensive safeguarding policy, critics argue enforcement remains inconsistent and opaque.

The Czech players’ union has now proposed new regulations to address abuse and is pushing for legislative changes at national level, while calls grow for independent oversight mechanisms in football.

For Janku, speaking out was a difficult but necessary step.

“It’s not comfortable to speak about it, but it is needed,” she said. “If there is a chance to make football safer for women and younger girls, we must act. Don’t be silent… and don’t let him coach again.”

The case is increasingly being viewed as emblematic of deeper safeguarding failures in global football, with experts warning it may represent only a fraction of a much wider, underreported problem.

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The Iranian women’s soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from ​Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.

Australia ‌had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran.

Concerns over their safety surfaced when ​several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s ​Asian Cup match earlier this month after the United States and ⁠Israel launched the war against Iran. Iranian state television had labelled them “wartime traitors”.

The team, ​which flew into Istanbul on Tuesday, took a flight to Igdir in eastern Turkey ​on Wednesday morning.

The players emerged from Igdir Airport, pulling their luggage and chatted in front of the terminal before boarding a bus to the border. One of them briefly smiled ​and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed. After a trip ​of around two hours to the frontier, they went through passport control at the Gurbulak ‌border ⁠gate before crossing over into Iran.

A bus carrying members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team arrives at the Gurbulak Border Gate, a crossing point between Turkey and Iran, as they travel to their home country after five players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia over safety concerns about returning due to not singing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month, in the eastern Agri province, Turkey, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Ali Ihsan Ozturk

The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament more than a week ago.

Five of ​those who had ​sought asylum in ⁠Australia subsequently changed their minds and decided to return home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on Monday.

They rejoined the ​rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the ​team had ⁠been staying since leaving Sydney last week.

The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) said last week that those who had changed their minds would travel home with the rest of the team “to ⁠once ​again be embraced by their families and homeland.”

Two ​players are still in Australia and have been pictured training with a local A-League club.

-Reuters

 

 

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