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Shiva Amini, a former Iranian professional soccer player who was kicked off the team and then forced to leave the country after being photographed playing without a hijab around her head, suggested Wednesday that players returning to the country faced an uncertain future.
Six players from the Iranian women’s national football team have been granted asylum in Australia after the team was expelled from the women’s Asian Cup. The Australian government intervened and worked with some players to obtain a humanitarian visa.
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Members of the Iranian women’s national football team arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 after attending a Group A match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain)
Amini appeared on Pak Gazette Channel’s “The Story” and said he understood what the players are going through.
“I can totally understand what those Iranian footballers are going through because I have been in their shoes,” he said. “The Iranian regime put you in this situation. You have to say goodbye to everything you have in Iran… Anything can happen to you when you go to Iran. You can face prison, you can face rape, you can face execution… The regime doesn’t care who you are.”
Amini was granted asylum in Switzerland due to threats from the Islamic regime in Iran.
She broke down in tears as she remembered not being able to see her father for almost 10 years and missing his funeral when he died.
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Iranian fans display signs during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at the Gold Coast Stadium in Gold Coast, Australia on March 8, 2026. (AAP/via REUTERS)
“I was in Switzerland and the regime put me in a situation,” he said. “I just play soccer with my friends without my hijab and the regime saw my social media and used it against me because they wanted to make me an example for other athletes in Iran.
“They took everything from me. I lost my family, I lost my home, I lost my security. I remember that after six or seven years, when I was in Italy, I just wanted to invite my parents, my family, my mother and my father because my father was restless. He told me: ‘Hey, I want to see you’. I tried to get them a visa. This is very sad because I tried a lot with a lawyer but the regime did not give a visa to my father, but (only) to my mother.
“My mom came to see me after seven years and when she was there, I felt very happy. It was something that after seven years I was able to hug my mom, I feel her. When my mom was in Italy, my brother called me and said, ‘Dad, he passed away.’ They’re going to arrest you.”
Most of the Iranian women’s football team has left Australia, rejecting last-minute offers of asylum.
Iran’s players during their national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Dave Hunt/AAPImage via AP)
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The team flew to Malaysia after being at Sydney Airport.
