Iranian Women's Soccer Team Refuse to Sing National Anthem in Silent Protest at Asian Cup

The Iranian women's national soccer team refused to sing their country's national anthem before their Women's Asian Cup match against South Korea on Australia's Gold Coast Monday night — a striking act of silent protest that carries extraordinary risk for athletes whose government has imprisoned and killed women for far less. The team's refusal comes as U.S. and Israeli bombs continue to fall on their homeland and as the regime that demands their loyalty struggles to maintain control. The gesture echoes the 2022 Men's World Cup in Qatar, when Iran's men's team similarly refused to sing the anthem during the Mahsa Amini protests, and signals that the spirit of defiance that has animated Iran's women-led resistance movement remains alive even as the country is consumed by war.