FIFA changed its decision and allowed questions and answers in Spanish to be used in all press conferences during the World Cup. This change comes after Vinícius Júnior and Hakimi were prevented from expressing themselves in the language during the confrontation between Brazil and Morocco. The new regulations apply to games held outside of Mexico and also to clashes where none of the participating teams have Spanish as their official language.
From now on, the sports organization will ensure the constant presence of interpreters for the Spanish language, following the standard already established for English. In addition, translation will be offered into the languages prevalent in the two countries competing in each match.
The international federation reevaluated its guidelines after the strong negative reaction generated by the ban on Vinícius Júnior and Hakimi from communicating in Spanish during the match between Brazil and Morocco. Images of what happened circulated widely on the networks and raised debates, especially considering that Spanish is the official language of Mexico, one of the hosts of the championship.
Understand the initial reason for the language restriction
In contact with the ge portal, FIFA clarified that the initial measure was of an operational nature. Before each game, the participating teams inform the federation which languages they wish to have available for translation in the press conferences.
Specifically in the game between Brazil and Morocco, the Brazilian delegation had requested translation into Portuguese and Italian, aiming for the possibility of coach Ancelotti expressing himself in his mother tongue. In turn, the Moroccan team requested Arabic and French.
Thus, the pre- and post-game press sessions had translations into Portuguese, Italian, Arabic and French, in addition to English, which was the predominant language at the match venue, in New Jersey.
Consequently, Ancelotti gave five responses in languages other than Portuguese, one in French, two in English and two more in Italian. Vini Jr and Hakimi were prevented from using Spanish, as there were no resources for simultaneous translation for other press professionals.
Before the start of the press conference, in the instructions given to those present, the mediator made the following observation:
“To ask questions, please raise your hand and wait for the microphone. Today, we have translation into English, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic and French.”
However, press conferences with the participation of Hispanic nations or countries requesting translation into Spanish normally occurred with the use of the language. After the intense repercussion of the incident, FIFA announced last Sunday night the decision to offer translation into Spanish for all World Cup interviews.
For example, Mexico hosted two games in the first phase of the tournament: Mexico against South Africa, with a score of 2-0, at the Azteca stadium, and South Korea against the Czech Republic, which ended 2-1. In the second match, even without the presence of Spanish-speaking teams, the translation was available for Czech, Korean, English and Spanish.
