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The Iranian women’s national football team made a statement on Monday night during the opening match of the Women’s Asian Cup when they refused to sing as their national anthem played over the loudspeakers at the Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.
The players were in their usual line-up before their match against South Korea when the Iranian national anthem began to play. The women, looking straight ahead and barely moving, were stoic as there seemed to be jeers from the crowd. Later, applause erupted from the crowd after South Korea’s 3-0 win.
Iran manager Marziyeh Jafari was also seen smiling as she watched her players’ silence from the sidelines.
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Team Iran listens to national anthems before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 soccer match between South Korea and Iran in Gold Coast on March 2, 2026. (Izhar Khan/AFP)
This silence is especially deafening after the confirmed US-Israeli attacks over the weekend that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel and regional countries that host US allies or military bases, including Bahrain and Qatar.
During questioning by the media on Sunday, Iran’s women’s national team captain Zahra Ghanbari, along with Jafari, were asked about Khamenei’s death. The question was quickly shot down.
Jafari responded in Farsi, but an AFC media representative interrupted her response without any translation, according to ESPN.
“OK, I think that’s all for your question. Thanks for asking. Let’s just focus on the game itself,” the media representative said before the questioning continued.
While the content of Jafari’s response remains unknown, the team’s stoic nature during the national anthem is usually met by at least some players singing.
The massive US-Israeli joint military operation, known as “Operation Epic Fury”, left many of Iran’s top leaders dead, including Khamenei. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned against any Iranian retaliation, saying that if Iran were to “hit very hard” they would be met with “a force never seen before.”
The attacks have affected the sports world as well as the rest of the country; football association president shared a gloomy 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 start their Group G programme.
of Islamic Republic of Iran walks out for the start of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between Korea Republic and Islamic Republic of Iran at Gold Coast Stadium on March 2, 2026 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Albert Perez/Getty Images)
“What is certain is that after this attack we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” 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 also noted that it will monitor the situation with Iran.
Iran’s national team will not prepare for the World Cup at this time, as a 40-day mourning period following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in effect. The women’s national team was, however, allowed to compete in the Asian Cup.
Elsewhere in the sports world, Pakinomist Digital learned that Israel’s national gymnastics team suspended all training and team activities amid the counterattack, with the Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) issuing a statement saying the violence has caused “unavoidable disruption.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty around the national teams’ professional plans, especially as we are at the start of the international season,” the statement read.
Team Iran poses for a group photo before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match against South Korea in Gold Coast on March 2, 2026. (Izhar Khan/AFP)
A team source also told Pakinomist Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterattack began.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday when a barrage of missiles landed just kilometers from Jerusalem in Beit Shemesh.
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