Iran women's national football team decline to sing national anthem in AFC Women’s Asian Cup opener

Gold Coast — The Iranian women’s national football team staged a silent protest during their opening match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup by refusing to sing their national anthem at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

Ahead of their clash against South Korea women's national football team, the Iranian players stood in their customary line-up as the anthem played over the stadium speakers. However, neither the players nor head coach Marziyeh Jafari joined in, maintaining a straight gaze and minimal movement throughout.

The gesture came in the wake of the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Israeli and U.S. strikes.

During a media interaction on Sunday, Iran captain Zahra Ghanbari, alongside Jafari, was asked about Khamenei’s death. According to ESPN, Jafari began responding in Farsi, but an AFC media representative interrupted and ended the exchange without translating her remarks.

“OK, I think that’s all for your question. Thank you for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself,” the media representative said before the press conference moved on.

On the field, South Korea secured a comfortable victory. Choe Yu-ri opened the scoring in the first half, while Kim Hye-ri and Ko Yoo-jin added goals after the break to seal the result.

Despite the defeat, Jafari expressed satisfaction with her team’s effort. Competing in only their second tournament finals, Iran faced a seasoned Asian powerhouse that has appeared 14 times in the competition and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup on four occasions.

“We knew it would be a tough game as Korea are one of the strongest teams in Asia,” Jafari said. “They played very well, so I congratulate them. I hope we can return stronger in the competition.

“We had a strategy for the second half and tried to apply pressure, shifting from defensive to attacking tactics. We conceded a penalty due to an individual error, and the set-piece goal was also our mistake. But overall, I believe the team’s performance was very good.”

With inputs from IANS