Iran’s women’s football team refused to sing the national anthem at the Asian Cup

Iranian Women’s National Soccer The team made a strong statement during the opening match of the Women’s Asian Cup on Monday night, as they refused to sing their national anthem as it played over the speakers at the Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

The players were in their routine before the match against South Korea, then Iranian national anthem Started playing. The women, looking straight ahead and barely moving, seemed to be laughing through the crowd. Later, there was a standing ovation from the crowd following South Korea’s 3-0 win.

Iran manager Marziah Jafari was also seen smiling at her players’ composure.

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Team Iran listens to the national anthem before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between South Korea and Iran on March 2, 2026 in Gold Coast. (Izar Khan/AFP)

The silence is especially deafening after the weekend’s confirmed US-Israeli strikes. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since retaliated by firing missiles and drones at regional countries that host U.S. allies or military bases, including Israel and Bahrain and Qatar.

During a media quiz on Sunday, Iran’s women’s national team captain Zahra Ghanbari and Jafari were asked about Khamenei’s death. The question was quickly shot down.

Jafari responded in Farsi, but an AFC media representative cut her response off without a translation, according to ESPN.

“Well, I guess that’s all for your question. Thanks for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself,” the media representative said before continuing with the question.

While the content of Jaffrey’s response remains unknown, the team’s boisterous nature during the national anthem, which is usually sung by at least a few players, speaks volumes.

A major joint US-Israeli military operation known as “Operation Epic Fury” killed many of Iran’s top leaders, including Khamenei. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned against any Iranian retaliation, saying that if Iran was “struck too hard” it would be given “unprecedented force”.

These attacks have affected the sports world as well as the rest of the country; The president of the football confederation shared a somber outlook on playing in this year’s FIFA World Cup. Iran have already qualified for the tournament and will face New Zealand in Los Angeles in June to kick off their Group G schedule.

The Islamic Republic of Iran team steps out for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between Korea Republic vs Islamic Republic of Iran at Gold Coast Stadium on March 2, 2026 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Albert Perez/Getty Images)

“We cannot expect to look forward to the World Cup after this attack, that’s for sure,” football president Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday.

“The American regime has attacked our homeland and this is an incident that will not go unanswered.”

FIFA has also stated that it will continue to monitor the situation with Iran.

Iran’s national team will not be preparing for the World Cup this time, as a 40-day mourning period is in effect following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, the women’s national team was allowed to participate in the Asian Cup.

Elsewhere in the sports world, Fox News Digital has learned that Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities with Israel, amid the counterattack. Gymnastics Federation (IGF) Providing a statement declaring that the violence has caused “inevitable disruption”.

““The current security situation in our region has caused unavoidable disruption to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ business plans, especially as we are at the start of the international season,” the statement said.

Team Iran poses for a group photo ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match against South Korea on March 2, 2026 in Gold Coast. (Izar Khan/AFP)

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A source on the team also told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving around in bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.

An Iranian airstrike killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday, when a missile barrage landed in Beit Shemesh, a few miles from Jerusalem.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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