Imagine the scene: a crucial World Cup match, tension is sky-high, and a pivotal goal is disallowed. Immediately, players from both teams swarm the referee, a cacophony of shouts and protests erupting in different languages. This exact scenario unfolded in a World Cup clash between Iran and Spain, highlighting a fascinating, often overlooked aspect of international soccer: communication across language barriers. But how do referees, players from diverse linguistic backgrounds, and officials all understand each other in the heat of the moment on the pitch?
In tournaments like the World Cup, featuring teams from over 30 different nations and even more languages, the potential for miscommunication is immense. Games regularly pit teams from opposite corners of the globe against each other, further complicating matters. Adding to this mix are the referees, often hailing from yet another country, potentially speaking a different language altogether.
Referee Andres Cunha disallows Iran’s first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group B match between Iran and Spain at Kazan Arena on June 20, 2018 in Kazan, Russia. (Getty Images)
Referee Andres Cunha disallows Iran’s first goal, sparking language-barrier questions at the 2018 World Cup match in Kazan, Russia. (Getty Images)
Every soccer match sees passionate appeals to the referee. Players vehemently argue for fouls, goals, penalties, and cards. While expressive hand gestures and universal signals for common calls like goals or penalties are helpful, can these truly bridge the communication gap throughout a fast-paced 90-minute game when players and referees speak different languages?
Surprisingly, the rules of soccer are designed to minimize verbal communication. Gestures are paramount for referees to officiate effectively, even without uttering a word. The very invention of yellow and red cards was a direct response to the need to overcome language barriers in international football, providing universally understood visual signals for disciplinary actions.
FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, lists four official languages: English, German, French, and Spanish. However, it’s unrealistic to expect every referee and player to be fluent in all four. So, what language truly dominates on the World Cup pitch?
Leading up to the 2014 World Cup, FIFA mandated English proficiency for referees officiating at the tournament. Referees had to attend rigorous training conferences, where, alongside intense fitness evaluations (referees can run up to 7.5 miles per game), English language skills were a key requirement.
Despite this emphasis on English, controversies do arise. During the 2014 World Cup opening match, Croatian defender Vedran Corluka claimed the Japanese referee, Yuichi Nishimura, “didn’t speak English” and was communicating in Japanese. The Japanese FA refuted this, stating that FIFA seminars are conducted in English and all referees for such high-level games are proficient in English.
Whether by design or circumstance, English has emerged as the lingua franca of international sports. For FIFA and UEFA (the European soccer federation), English is the default language for referee communication. This trend extends beyond soccer; even at the Olympics, English has largely supplanted French, the traditional language of Olympic officials, due to its widespread global adoption.
Therefore, it’s highly probable that most player-referee interactions at the World Cup occur in English. While the idea of referees communicating in a multitude of exotic languages might be appealing, the reality is that English serves as the primary “language ref use” in international soccer, ensuring smoother gameplay and clearer communication in high-stakes tournaments like the World Cup. So, while the passion of the game is universal, the language of officiating, for the most part, is English.
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