India, March 3 -- In a bold gesture, Iran's women's national football team refused to sing their national anthem before their match against South Korea in the Asian Cup at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on Monday, media reports said.

The silent protest comes amid political upheaval in Iran following the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli strike over the weekend.

Though team captain Zahra Ghanbari and Jafari were questioned about the gesture after the match, a media representative declined to translate Ghanbari's response.

Khamenei, who succeeded Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, had served as Iran's most powerful political and religious authority for more than three decades, s...