On Sunday night, after Iran’s final game of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast, protesters surrounded their team bus, banging on the windows and shouting “let them go”.

Later, five members of the Iranian squad broke away from their minders.

By Tuesday, the federal government had confirmed they had been granted humanitarian visas.

The move followed days of concern about what the players might face if they returned to Iran, after several were denounced on state television for refusing to sing the national anthem at the start of the tournament.

The federal government says the same option remains open to the rest of the team, but they look set to return to a war zone.

Today, former Socceroo and human rights advocate Craig Foster on what this moment says about football’s failure to protect women players when they needed them most.

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