Vinicius Junior’s request was denied at the FIFA press conference, and an apology was given.
After Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Morocco, Vinicius Junior held a press conference, but an official had to gently ask him to stick to certain languages. Vinicius scored Brazil’s first World Cup goal at 32 minutes, after Morocco’s Ismael Saibari had put them ahead.
Brazil, a five-time World Cup winner, didn’t play their best game and the result felt fair. People were especially worried about Brazil’s midfield, which struggled against Morocco, especially in the first half. But Vinicius impressed with a great solo goal, cutting inside and firing the ball past goalkeeper Bono.
Because of this, the Real Madrid star was chosen for post-match media duties in New York. However, during his press conference, when a journalist started asking a question in English, Vinicius asked if it could be in Spanish instead. An official quickly explained that Spanish translations weren’t available remotely for this event.
“Sorry, we don’t have Spanish for remote interpretation,” the official said. “Please ask your question in English or one of the other languages we’re using today. Thank you.”
Earlier, at the Netherlands midfielder Frenkie De Jong’s press conference, it was made clear that remote translation was only available in English, Japanese, and Dutch. When a reporter asked De Jong a question in Spanish, the official politely interrupted: “Please use English, Japanese, or Dutch for translation.”
Similarly, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi wasn’t allowed to be asked questions in Spanish either. The official said, “Excuse me, you can only use the languages we’ve set. No Spanish because of the translation.”
As a compromise, Hakimi was asked in Spanish but answered in English. Hakimi, born and raised in Madrid, handled it smoothly. SPORTbible has reached out to FIFA for a comment.
During Vinicius’ interview, a Venezuelan reporter asked a question in Spanish, but Vinicius said since he was playing for Brazil, he’d reply in Portuguese instead.