Iran team appears with purple bags in silent protest during Nigeria match

[Financial News] With their place at the World Cup now in doubt amid the devastation of war, the Iran national football team staged a silent protest on the international stage to commemorate a tragedy at home.
On the 28th (Korea time), during a friendly against Nigeria in Belek, Turkey, the Iran national football team lined up for the national anthem wearing black armbands and carrying pink and purple schoolbags.
The gesture was meant to honor the victims of an airstrike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls' Elementary School on the 1st of this month, when the war began with air raids by Israel and the United States. According to authorities in Tehran, more than 175 people, including children and teachers, were killed in the attack.
Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, vice president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, told the Reuters news agency that "the players were deeply shocked by the bombing of the girls' school, and they voluntarily decided on this symbolic gesture to show solidarity with the victims."
Because of the war, it is now unclear whether Iran will be able to participate in the World Cup at all. Drawn into Group G at the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, Iran is scheduled to play all of its group-stage matches in the United States.
The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran initially hinted it might withdraw from the tournament after the war broke out. It later expressed its intention to take part, while requesting that its group-stage matches be moved from the United States to Mexico. However, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) effectively rejected that request.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that the United States would always welcome the Iranian team’s entry into the country, but added that, considering the players’ lives and safety, it might not be appropriate.
Iran lost 2–1 to Nigeria in the match, and is scheduled to play a second friendly against Costa Rica in Turkey on the 31st local time.

welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter