ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) 鈥� Players held small backpacks as Iran’s national soccer team used a match against Nigeria on Friday to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school.
More than 165 people were killed, most of them children, when a Feb. 28 strike, , hit the school in southern Iran. Neither the United States nor Israel has accepted responsibility for the attack, which has come under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups. The U.S. military is investigating and has said it would never target civilians.
During the national anthem Friday, the Iranian team honored the memory of the slain children by placing small pink and purple school backpacks in front of them.
Video of the ceremony also showed the players wearing black armbands in remembrance of those killed since the began.
The match was played in Antalya, southern Turkey. Nigeria won 2-1 in a game that was a tuneup for Iran, ahead of the tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Islamic Republic’s team is scheduled to play three group-stage matches in June in the U.S. The Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said the country asked FIFA to move those three games to Mexico after U.S. President Donald Trump the team from attending, citing safety concerns.
Iranian government and soccer officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup but that it is not possible for the national team to go to the U.S. because of military attacks on Iran by Israel and U.S.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has dampened Iran鈥檚 attempts to move its matches, saying global soccer鈥檚 governing body wants the tournament 鈥渢o go ahead as scheduled.鈥�
Separately on Friday, Iran鈥檚 judiciary of soccer player Sardar Azmoun, two semiofficial news agencies said. The announcement follows threats from Iran鈥檚 hard-liner judicial chief that authorities planned to seize the assets of celebrities viewed as critical of the government.
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