How was your grip on Iranian soccer at the start of the week versus now? Wow. What an incredible seven days of sport. ICYMI, it went something like this…
Sunday: Iran lost their final group game, protesters blocked the team bus, and begged for the players and staff to be allowed to stay in Australia.
Monday: Five players are granted asylum by Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
Tuesday: Two more members of the group take up the offer, as the remainder of the team leaves the country.
Wednesday: One of the seven women decides to head back to Iran after all, compromising the safety of the location of the remaining six people.
That was all before a Thursday where Brisbane slumped to 0-2 in the NRL and Michael Voss dodged a bullet as Carlton edged past Richmond in the AFL. I didn’t even mention Zac Lomax moving to rugby and the Western Force for a deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars LESS than his old contract with Parramatta.
We were all utterly fixated on this Iran story.
It was a reminder that sport is simultaneously inconsequential and hugely influential. If not for the AFC Asian Cup, these six women would not be living in Australia. It’s not a picture-perfect happy ending either. Many people attached to it face a deeply uncertain future.
To understand how this all went down and what comes next, listen to our conversation with ABC Sport reporter Amanda Shalala.
