🚨🗣️ Thierry Henry:
“I've covered World Cups for years, and I'll say this clearly: this makes no sense.
A World Cup co-hosted by Mexico should never find itself in a situation where journalists are reportedly being discouraged from asking questions in Spanish. It's a contradiction that FIFA cannot ignore.
We've seen it with Hakimi. We've seen it with Vinícius Jr. Now similar concerns are being raised around Frenkie de Jong. The players understood the language. The journalists spoke one of the most influential languages in world football. Yet somehow Spanish became an issue.
FIFA constantly speaks about inclusion, diversity, and making football accessible to everyone. Those principles cannot only exist in speeches and promotional campaigns. They must exist in practice.
Spanish is spoken by hundreds of millions of people across the globe. It is one of the defining languages of football. If a journalist asks a question in Spanish, and the player understands it, there should be no controversy.
The problem isn't just the policy—it's the message it sends.
Fans are looking at a tournament hosted partly by a Spanish-speaking nation and asking a very simple question: why are barriers being created where none need to exist?
If there is a logistical explanation, FIFA should provide it immediately. Because right now, the optics are damaging.
Football belongs to everyone. That cannot be a slogan used when convenient. It has to be a principle that guides every decision.
FIFA wanted this World Cup to be remembered as a celebration of cultures and languages. Instead, they've created a debate that raises serious questions about whether their actions match their words.”