Australian police investigated a complaint involving a coach of the country’s soccer team with ties to the Iranian regime after a group of activists alleged he threatened to kill them at a Women’s Asian Cup match last week.
The criminal investigation, confirmed by Queensland Police, has led to renewed calls from the Iranian diaspora for immigration control processes to be tightened to prevent the entry into the country of people linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a proscribed state sponsor of terrorism.
It comes as a Labor-led parliamentary committee said on Thursday the government should consider whether enough is being done about IRGC activity in Australia, including harassment of citizens critical of Iran’s theocratic regime.
Six members of Iran’s women’s soccer team who sought asylum in Australia this week have attracted international attention and prompted Iran’s Foreign Ministry to accuse the government of holding the players “hostage.”
An Iranian Australian protester, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, said she was among a group behind the women’s team and their coach Mohammad Salari at the Gold Coast’s Cbus Stadium last Thursday, where they were competing against the Matildas.
“We saw Salari looking at us, so we started calling him… telling him ‘what a shame,’” she said.
In the complaint, he alleges: “He turned around and looked at us and then drew a line down his throat and pointed at us.”
“I don’t understand how it got onto Australian soil,” the protester said.
Queensland Police confirmed they were aware of an incident at Cbus Stadium on March 5.
“A complaint was received and investigations continue,” a spokesperson said.
Dr Rana Dadpour, founder of advocacy group AusIran, said Salari had been failed by the Iranian diaspora by allowing him to enter Australia.
She believes that “he should not be granted a visa.”
Iranian Society of Queensland vice-president Hadi Karimi said the community needed answers about why someone linked to the IRGC was granted a visa given the organization was considered a state sponsor of terrorism.
“We need the Australian government to tell us why our girls were held in a hotel organized by the IRGC and its members,” he said.
Iranian-born Sydney councilor Tina Kordrostami raised the issue at a hearing before the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS) last month.
On Thursday, PJCIS backed the Albanese government’s decision to list the IRGC as a state sponsor of terrorism following revelations by security agencies that the Iranian government ordered at least two anti-Semitic attacks in Australia.
Australia’s Iranian community has for years expressed concerns about IRGC infiltration of the country and harassment of the diaspora.
When asked about Salari’s visa, the Department of the Interior said it could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.
“All non-citizens who apply for an Australian visa and wish to travel to Australia are considered on an individual basis under the legal requirements set out in Australian immigration legislation,” the spokesperson said.
“All visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis and all criteria must be met before a visa can be granted.”
Applicants must meet all legal requirements to be granted a visa, including character and security criteria, the spokesperson said.
Home Secretary Tony Burke said the country’s security and intelligence agencies make recommendations based on “all the information available, including what reaches our intelligence partners”.
On Wednesday, Burke said one of the Iranian footballers who had requested asylum had changed his mind.
The other women had to be urgently relocated, after the squad member who changed her mind contacted the Iranian embassy asking to be picked up, revealing the asylum seekers’ location to Iranian officials.
