In the seaside resort of Belek on Friday, Iran's men's national soccer team lined up for the pre-match formalities wearing black armbands and holding small schoolbags as the national anthem sounded. Team officials said the display was intended as a protest and a remembrance for schoolgirls killed on the first day of the Iran war.
The fixture was a friendly against Nigeria, staged as part of the squad's preparations ahead of the World Cup scheduled to be held in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The team's presence at the tournament has been clouded by the conflict.
Players were pictured holding pink and purple bags tied with ribbons - an apparent symbolic reference to the assault on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School. Tehran has said the strikes on that day resulted in the deaths of more than 175 people, including children and teachers. A media official for the Iranian team said the players were holding the bags close to their hearts "in remembrance of the 165 girls the Americans killed in an Iranian school."
"The players are holding the school bags close to their heart in remembrance of the 165 girls the Americans killed in an Iranian school," a media official for the Iranian team said.
U.S. military investigators have indicated it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for the attack, but they have not reached a final conclusion and their investigation remains incomplete. That ongoing inquiry and the unresolved questions around the incident are part of the backdrop to the players' protest.
The gesture follows earlier developments in which some members of Iran's women's national team remained silent during the national anthem at an Asian Cup match. State television in Tehran subsequently labelled those players "traitors."
Concerns over safety and optics have also entered diplomatic and logistical discussions. The Iranian football federation said it is in talks with FIFA about the possibility of moving its World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico. Separately, the men's team is scheduled to play another friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday in Turkey.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated earlier this month that while Iran's national team would be welcome to play in the U.S., there may be questions about whether it would be appropriate for concerns over "life and safety."
The scene in Belek - black armbands combined with the schoolbag symbolism - underscores the intersection of sport, national trauma, and unresolved military inquiries as the World Cup approaches, and highlights ongoing debates about venue, safety, and the status of Iran's participation.