Iran Players Honor Slain Children as Infantino Watches On
Iranian footballers stood during their national anthem in Antalya on Tuesday holding photographs of children they say were killed in US and Israeli airstrikes — and FIFA president Gianni Infantino was right there in the empty stadium watching every second of it.
The gesture came before Iran’s World Cup warm-up against Costa Rica. Coach Amir Ghalenoei and Football Federation vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi stood alongside the players, photographs raised, no crowd present. Iran won the match 5-0. But the score was barely the point.
It was the second tribute in four days. On Friday, before their warm-up against Nigeria, the squad held small children’s backpacks on the pitch — a memorial to victims of a missile strike on an elementary school in southern Iran, which Tehran attributes to the US and Israel. Washington has denied responsibility and says an investigation is underway. Israel has also refused to accept blame.
Infantino, who watched Tuesday’s match from the stands, offered measured support. “FIFA will continue to support the team to ensure the best possible conditions as they prepare for the World Cup,” he said.
That support does not extend to moving their fixtures. Iran’s ambassador in Mexico has asked FIFA to relocate the country’s three group-stage matches from US soil. Infantino has already answered: there is no Plan B.
The players, it seems, have found their own way to make their position clear.