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Shiva Amini, a former Iranian women’s soccer player who was banned from the team and later forced to leave the country after she was photographed playing without a hijab, suggested on Wednesday that players returning to the country face an uncertain future.
Six Iranian women’s national soccer team players received asylum in Australia after the team was rejected from the Women’s Asian Cup. The Australian government stepped in and worked with some players to obtain a humanitarian visa.
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Members of the Iran women’s national soccer team arrive at Terminal 1 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after participating in a Group A match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain)
Appearing on Pakinomist Channel’s “The Story,” Amini said she understood what the players are going through.
“I can fully understand what the Iranian soccer players are going through because I have been in their shoes,” she 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 be in prison, you can be raped, you can be executed … The regime does not 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 nearly 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,” she said. “I simply play football with my friends without my hijab on and the regime saw my social media and used it against me because they wanted to make an example of me to the other athletes in Iran.
“They took everything from me. I lost my family, I lost my home, I lost my security. I remember after six, 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 like restless. He was like: “Hey, I wanna see you.” I tried to get a visa for them. It’s so sad because I tried so hard with a lawyer, but the regime didn’t give a visa to my father, but (only) my mother.
“My mother came to me after seven years, and when she was there, I was so happy. It was something after seven years, I could hug my mother, I feel her. When my mother was in Italy, my brother called me and said: “Father, died.” And that day was the worst day of my life, because I felt guilty. My mother is here. I could not get a visa for my father. … I wanted to come to Iran, but my mother did not allow me, and she said, ‘No, you can’t even see your father because they want to arrest you’.”
Most of the Iranian women’s soccer team left Australia, rejecting asylum offers at the last minute.
Iran players during their national anthem ahead of 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.
