What The…Football?! Multilingualism in the Beautiful Game

With the return of summer football in the form of the European Championships and the Copa América, my brain is filled to the brim with football-related questions. How on earth did I manage to get such a bad combination of countries in the family sweepstake (I am down to one team!)? Who is going to win the golden boot? Why have there been so many own goals this Euros?

One question that has successfully united the language-learning side of my brain with the side that enjoys football is the age-old question: how do footballers from all over the world communicate, not only with each other, but with the referee? Setting out to research this question, I expected a straightforward answer, however, it is a relatively complex issue that can vary not only between clubs but also from club level to international level.

With international transfers and squads made up of a wide variety of nationalities, it is not a shock that multilingualism has become a part of football today. With more polyglot managers and players than ever (did you know that Romelu Lukaku can speak six languages?!), football clubs seem to have embraced the multilingual aspect of the beautiful game.

More experienced players within a club are now often asked to act as mentors to younger players who share their mother tongue. The use of interpreters as well as making language classes available to new additions to the squad are more formal ways of smoothing out any linguistic bumps in dressing rooms.

The appointment of a multilingual captain or manager has proved successful in tackling misunderstandings in some clubs. It goes without saying that language barriers are a bigger issue for certain clubs more than others. That said, nowadays if a club wanted to introduce more international players, there are fantastic resources available, as well as approaches that will help to create a successful multilingual work environment within the dressing room.

That is all well and good but what happens on the pitch itself? In an international game between Russia and Spain, with a referee from the Netherlands where there is little to no mutual intelligibility - how does that work?

The official languages of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) are English, French, Spanish, and German. Referees are expected to have a good level of English; therefore, it will come as no surprise to many of us that English acts as a lingua franca on the football pitch.

Aside from the use of English, body language, along with other nonverbal communication, is key, particularly during international fixtures. Referees can be observed using hand signals specific to different aspects of the game (e.g. corner, penalty, free kick, etc.). Players familiarise themselves with these signals over time and seem to have little trouble understanding what the referee is saying. After all, a red card is a red card in every language.

Image Credit: BBC Sport Football

So, do language barriers affect the beautiful game? Not to the extent that you might think. The game is universal and transcends language barriers, with some describing football as a language in and of itself.

Although some international players struggle to adapt to their new linguistic landscape off the pitch and outside of the realm of football, it appears that fluency in corner kicks and a proficiency in penalties is all that is required to navigate the now wonderfully multilingual football world.