FIFA Enforces Strict Language Protocol During World Cup, Banning Spanish in Official Settings
During one of the most anticipated group-stage matches of the World Cup, Morocco held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in the early hours of Sunday, June 14, but the build-up to the game drew nearly as much attention as the result itself. A viral moment from the pre-match press conference on June 12 sparked widespread debate online after a Mexican TV journalist, Rodrigo Ornelas of TV Azteca Deportes, began asking Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi a question in Spanish. A FIFA moderator immediately intervened, saying Spanish was not allowed in that setting.
The exchange quickly spread across social media, with many users speculating that FIFA had imposed a broader ban on Spanish during the tournament in the United States. That theory gained traction because Spanish is the official language of Mexico, one of the World Cup co-hosts, and one of the most widely spoken languages in the U.S. However, reports cited by El País and Excélsior indicate that the incident reflected FIFA’s conference protocol rather than any prohibition on Spanish itself.
According to those reports, FIFA’s rules for pre- and post-match press conferences allow questions in English and in the language of the two teams involved, in order to keep proceedings orderly and to ensure live translation works smoothly. For Brazil versus Morocco, approved languages included English, Portuguese, Arabic and French, with Italian also accepted at Brazil’s request because head coach Carlo Ancelotti is Italian. Spanish was not included because neither team represented a Spanish-speaking nation.
Hakimi, who was born and raised in Madrid, reportedly understood the question and offered to answer in English, underscoring that the issue was administrative rather than personal. The exchange nevertheless fueled confusion online, partly because many observers assumed Spanish would be permitted automatically in a U.S.-hosted tournament. Excélsior described the reaction as a wave of confusion and theories surrounding an alleged veto of Spanish, while El País noted the incident exposed how rigid FIFA’s media rules can appear when language expectations differ from the tournament protocol.
The confusion was highlighted further by another pre-match moment involving Brazil forward Vinicius Junior. According to El País, he encouraged a Spanish-speaking journalist to ask a question in Spanish, but the reporter ultimately followed FIFA’s requirements and used English instead. Vinicius then had to put on an earpiece to hear the translation, adding to the awkwardness of the scene.
In the end, the controversy centered not on the match itself, but on how FIFA manages multilingual press conferences at major tournaments. The episode showed how a routine media rule, when played out on a global stage, can rapidly turn into a viral controversy and a source of misunderstanding about language access at the World Cup.
