03/05/26 08:41:00
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03/05 05:21 CST From silence to song: Iran team's anthem shift in Australia at
soccer's Women's Asian Cup
From silence to song: Iran team's anthem shift in Australia at soccer's Women's
Asian Cup
GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) --- 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."
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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