TIJUANA — Iran's soccer team arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday with players wearing gold lapel pins marked "#168." The designation references the 168 people killed in a February 28 missile strike on an elementary school in Minab, Iran.
Most of the victims of the February 28 strike were schoolgirls at Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School. Bellingcat analyzed video footage indicating a U.S. Tomahawk missile struck the Minab school, which was located next to a compound associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. military is investigating the attack, and the U.S. has not officially accepted responsibility for the missile strike.
The team traveled to Mexico via a private flight from Turkey. The Iran Football Federation relocated the team's training base from Arizona to Mexico following U.S. visa processing delays that affected Iranian players and delegation members. U.S. authorities approved visas for Iranian players on Friday. Fifteen of the seventy Iranian delegation members in Tijuana were denied entry to the U.S., according to Iran's ambassador to Mexico Abolfazl Pasandideh. Iran soccer team captain Ehsan Hajsafi addressed the delays. "Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff." Hajsafi said.
Hajsafi also expressed condolences for the victims of the missile strike. "Before anything else, I would like to express my condolences to all of the bereaved families in Iran. They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them. We cannot deny the conditions — the conditions in my country are not good and the players know it also." He said. Federation president Mehdi Taj also spoke on the matter. "We do not know how far the Americans' obstructionism will continue. What the United States is doing reflects malice and a lack of equality among teams." Taj said.
FIFA regulations prohibit equipment with political, religious, or personal slogans, statements, or images. FIFA has not commented on whether the pins are permissible during matches. In March, Iranian players held purple backpacks and images of strike victims during the national anthem before warmup matches. Before recent warmup matches, the Iranian team placed their right hands over their chests during the national anthem. FIFA took no action regarding previous remembrance displays by Iranian players before matches. The team is scheduled to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, both in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.