CNN:

Brisbane, Australia  — Amid fears over their safety, five members of the Iranian women’s soccer squad have left the team’s hotel in Australia and are currently safe with police, a source told CNN Sports.

The players, who’ve been playing in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, are at the center of growing calls for their exit from the country to be blocked for fear of persecution in Iran, their home country that’s at war with the US and Israel under a new hardline supreme leader.

Before their first match last Monday, the players stood silent during the Iranian national anthem, a gesture they didn’t explain but one that was interpreted by some hardliners inside Iran as a sign of treason.

Sources told CNN Sports they were forced to sing the national anthem ahead of their second match on Thursday, and on Sunday, ahead of their 2-0 defeat to the Philippines, they again sang the anthem and gave a military salute. 

 After the loss in their final match of the tournament on Sunday, supporters crowded around the team bus, shouting at police to “save our girls” as it pulled away.

Hadi Karimi, a human rights advocate and member of the local Iranian community, said supporters outside the bus could clearly see at least three players inside making the international hand signal for help.

However, a source close to the team expressed skepticism to CNN that the team members would know what the sign represents.

On Monday, Karimi added that there was hope other players would now join the five teammates who are currently with the police, adding it was “amazing news” that some players had gotten out.  

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