[Watch] Iranian Women Footballers Followed In KK Mart As Pressure Mounts On Stranded Squad In KL
Iran’s women’s football team arrived in Kuala Lumpur still unable to escape the spotlight — followed and filmed in a convenience store by a man pressuring them to declare they wanted to stay, days after six teammates accepted Australian humanitarian visas following a silent national anthem protest.
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Members of Iran’s women’s football team, now stranded in Malaysia while awaiting a flight home, have been caught on video being followed and filmed — pleading to be left alone and insisting they have no intention of seeking asylum abroad.
But a separate viral video showing a man confronting one of the team’s handlers has fuelled fresh, unverified claims that some players may still wish to remain.
The footage circulating on X shows the players inside what appears to be a KK Mart convenience store in Kuala Lumpur, visibly agitated as they are trailed by individuals recording them.
“We’re leaving. You’re not helping us at all. You’re just making us problems — we can’t even go out for a minute,” one player says in the video, speaking in Farsi with English subtitles.
In another moment, a player addresses the camera directly: “Are you afraid? By God, we want to go back. No problem for us. I mean, none of us intend to stay.”
A third player adds: “No one is going to kill us in Iran — it’s a complete media lie. They will treat us like royalty.”
Iranian women football team are now being harassed in Malaysia because of Tony Burke.
— Syrian Girl (@Partisangirl) March 13, 2026
“We want to go back to Iran, by god there is no pressure on us.”
“Leave us alone… we can’t even go to the toilet because you’re following us everywhere.”pic.twitter.com/hw4ogdp3A7
The Hotel Confrontation
A separate two-minute video, also widely circulated, shows a man confronting a woman believed to be one of the handlers accompanying the squad at their Kuala Lumpur hotel — a scene distinct from the convenience store footage.
In the clip, the man says in Farsi that three players had told Malaysian police they wanted to remain in the country — a claim that has not been independently verified.
Three of the girls have reported that the police have come with them to the hotel and told them that they want to stay. What have you used to frighten these kids?
The handler fires back, accusing the man of being paid to confront her.
“Maybe I’ve been paid to do this,” the man replies, “but your big boy Khamenei in Iran is gone. Girls, don’t be afraid — the whole of Malaysia is behind you, don’t worry.”
Cheras police said they had not received any reports from players or team officials about the confrontation, and the claim that players approached police remains unverified.
Stranded in Transit
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirmed the team was staying at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur while onward travel arrangements were finalised, with Iranian airspace still closed amid ongoing US and Israeli strikes, complicating their return to Tehran.
The crisis dates back to the squad’s opening AFC Women’s Asian Cup match on March 2, when several players refused to sing the national anthem before the match against South Korea — a moment Iranian state media condemned, branding them “wartime traitors.”
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke responded by offering humanitarian visas to players who feared persecution at home, with five initially granted protection before two more sought refuge in the days that followed.
One of those seven later changed her mind, contacting the Iranian embassy to arrange pickup — inadvertently exposing the safe house location of the others and forcing an emergency relocation by Australian officials.
Burke maintained that all remaining players had been given individual, private meetings at Sydney Airport — separated from Iranian minders by a heavy police presence — with no pressure applied.
Iran’s Response
Five players and one support staff member remain under Australian protection and are being fast-tracked to permanent residency.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei accused the Australian government of holding the players hostage, writing on social media:
They slaughtered more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap Tomahawk attack in the city of Minab, and now they want to take our athletes hostage in the name of ‘saving’ them? The audacity and hypocrisy are staggering. To Iran’s women’s football team: don’t worry. Iran awaits you with open arms. Come home.
US President Donald Trump also weighed in on Monday (9 March), calling on Australia to grant asylum to the players and stating the United States would be willing to accept them if Australia declined.
Rights groups have long documented Iran’s practice of threatening athletes’ families or seizing property to prevent defections abroad.
They slaughtered more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap Tomahawk attack in the city of Minab, and now they want to take our athletes hostage in the name of “saving” them?
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) March 10, 2026
The audacity and hypocrisy are staggering.
To Iran's Women's football team: don’t… pic.twitter.com/MhO3VRf2cY
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