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    <title>Aaj TV English News - Sports</title>
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    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 17:50:03 +0500</pubDate>
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      <title>Iranian soccer players hold schoolbags in solidarity with slain girls</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330456023/iranian-soccer-players-hold-schoolbags-in-solidarity-with-slain-girls</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Iran’s men’s national soccer team wore black armbands and held schoolbags as their anthem played ahead of ​a match in Turkey on Friday in what a team ‌official said was a protest over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the Iran war.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Iran were playing a friendly against Nigeria in the resort town ​of Belek ahead of the World Cup in the U.S., ​Mexico and Canada where their participation is in doubt over the ⁠conflict.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The men lined up holding pink and purple bags with ​ribbons on them - a reference to the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh ​School which Tehran says killed more than 175 people including children and teachers on the first day of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“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 ‌told ⁠&lt;em&gt;Reuters&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Earlier this month, some of Iran’s women’s soccer team stayed quiet during the ​national anthem at ​an Asian Cup ⁠match, leading state TV in Tehran to brand them “traitors”.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that ​while Iran’s national team were welcome to play ​in the ⁠U.S., it might not be appropriate for their “life and safety.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Iran’s football federation said it is in discussions with soccer’s world governing body FIFA about ⁠moving ​its World Cup matches to Mexico from ​the U.S.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The squad will also play Costa Rica on Tuesday in another friendly in ​Turkey.&lt;/p&gt;
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      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>Iran’s men’s national soccer team wore black armbands and held schoolbags as their anthem played ahead of ​a match in Turkey on Friday in what a team ‌official said was a protest over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the Iran war.</strong></p>
<p>Iran were playing a friendly against Nigeria in the resort town ​of Belek ahead of the World Cup in the U.S., ​Mexico and Canada where their participation is in doubt over the ⁠conflict.</p>
<p>The men lined up holding pink and purple bags with ​ribbons on them - a reference to the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh ​School which Tehran says killed more than 175 people including children and teachers on the first day of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes.</p>
<p>“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 ‌told ⁠<em>Reuters</em>.</p>
<p>U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, some of Iran’s women’s soccer team stayed quiet during the ​national anthem at ​an Asian Cup ⁠match, leading state TV in Tehran to brand them “traitors”.</p>
<p>U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that ​while Iran’s national team were welcome to play ​in the ⁠U.S., it might not be appropriate for their “life and safety.”</p>
<p>Iran’s football federation said it is in discussions with soccer’s world governing body FIFA about ⁠moving ​its World Cup matches to Mexico from ​the U.S.</p>
<p>The squad will also play Costa Rica on Tuesday in another friendly in ​Turkey.</p>
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      <category>Sports</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330456023</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 19:22:31 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Reuters)</author>
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        <media:title>Iran’s Aria Yousefi, Ali Nemati and Mohammad Ghorbani hold school bags in memory of the victims of the girls school bombing in Minab, Iran. – Reuters
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