The International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) reversed its previous decision and allowed the use of the Spanish language in all official World Cup interviews. This change takes effect immediately, including games that do not feature the participation of Hispanic teams. According to information from the Spanish and Mexican press, the entity now equates Spanish to English, guaranteeing simultaneous translation at all competition events, in addition to the local languages of the countries involved in each match.
Repercussions of the initial ban and the heart of the controversy
The review in FIFA’s stance was a direct response to the great global negative repercussion generated by the veto imposed on players Vinícius Júnior and Achraf Hakimi. Athletes were instructed not to answer questions in Spanish during the clash between Brazil and Morocco. Images of the incident circulated widely on social media, provoking a wave of criticism from fans and journalists. This incident became even more sensitive due to the fact that Spanish is the official language of Mexico, one of the three host nations of the current World Cup, which highlights the importance of FIFA’s decision to correct an error that could generate diplomatic and cultural tensions in an event of global reach.
Vinícius Júnior’s firm positioning when approached
During a visit to the mixed zone, a Venezuelan reporter requested a statement in Spanish from the Brazilian national team star. At the time, the Real Madrid athlete remained firm in his position, stating that, in that environment, the priority was to use his native language, Portuguese.
What FIFA alleged as the reason for the language restriction
In an official statement, FIFA justified the initial veto as a strictly operational problem. The entity explained that, prior to each round, the technical teams define which languages require translation support.
For the match between the teams of Brazil and Morocco, the Brazilian delegation had requested assistance in Portuguese and Italian – the latter to assist coach Carlo Ancelotti. In turn, the Moroccan team requested support in Arabic and French.
Given this scenario, press support in New Jersey only made these four languages available, in addition to English, which is the local language. With the implementation of the new guideline, FIFA seeks to correct course, prevent future diplomatic disagreements and effectively integrate one of the most spoken languages globally.
