FIFA adds Spanish as fourth language after Hakimi and Vinicius Jr press conference disputes go viral

FIFA has confirmed it will make Spanish available as a fourth language at World Cup press conferences, reversing course one day after separate incidents involving Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Jr drew widespread attention on social media.

The policy shift follows a moment before Morocco’s 1-1 draw with Brazil at New Jersey Stadium, when a FIFA official blocked Mexican journalist Rodrigo Ornelas of TV Azteca from asking Hakimi a question in Spanish. The PSG defender, who was born in Spain and speaks the language fluently, was visibly willing to engage — asking the official directly, “How should I reply, in English or Spanish?” — before ultimately answering in English at the official’s request.

Under the previous rules, press conferences were conducted in English alongside the languages of the two participating teams. For that Group C fixture, that meant Arabic and Portuguese, leaving Spanish out entirely despite its relevance to several players and journalists covering the tournament.

A second incident added further pressure on FIFA. A Venezuelan journalist asked Vinicius Jr to respond in Spanish, only for the Real Madrid forward to decline: “I’m with Brazil, I’m gonna speak in Portuguese.”

The two clips spread rapidly across social media, highlighting the practical limitations of FIFA’s translation framework at a tournament hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico — three countries where Spanish is either an official language or widely spoken.

FIFA confirmed the updated policy to The Sporting News, with Spanish now included as a standard fourth language at press conferences for the remainder of the competition.