Joe Molloy

Donald Trump was saying, give them amnesty.

We will if you won't.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Trump had a phone call.

It seems Australia then did step in and let the Iranian team know that if you want to stay, you can stay.

Because it's been extraordinarily dramatic.

Obviously, with everything else going on, it hasn't really hogged the headlines.

But this Asian Cup, game one for Iran was against South Korea.

And the Iranian team did not sing the national anthem and did not salute.

So this obviously blew up back in Iran in a big way.

State TV called them wartime traitors.

Not just traitors, wartime traitors.

There was some TV presenter.

I guess he's like the Tucker Carlson of Iranian TV or something.

These players should be dealt with severely for their dishonour, their lack of patriotism is what this guy was saying on TV.

This is no longer a symbolic protest.

Seven to eight year old girls in schools, they've attacked neonatal wards.

For you to go there and not sing the national anthem, this is the pinnacle of dishonour.

Wartime traitors.

I'd say it was a hell of a speech to camera.

Iran's national anthem very much tied to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and you remember in the World Cup in 22 in Qatar the men's players refused to sing the national anthem that was when there was kind of uprising at home so anyway the women didn't sing it against South Korea and then a slightly chilling thought is that three days later against Australia the players most certainly did sing the anthem and did salute