FIFA Referees Will Be Watching Players’ Mouths in Multiple Languages

Today marks the kick off of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. But the past two weeks of friendly games have given FIFA a reason to change some of their training for referees.

The World Cup has long been considered a family affair and actions by some players in the past week have not necessarily been family friendly. Crass language and behavior, as well as overly aggressive behavior are grounds for removal from the game. Perhaps the most recent memorable example of this occurred during the 2006 World Cup final when Zinedine Zidane was removed for headbutting a competitor.

While blatant aggressive behavior is pretty much universal, one thing that is not is expletive language or gestures. After Wayne Rooney swore at a referee earlier this week for being carded, FIFA felt that it would be appropriate to educate their referees in swearing in various languages and cultures. The hope is that refs will be able to understand more of what players say to them and the playing field (pardon the pun) will be leveled a little. Refs will be able to distinguish if a player speaking in his native language has sworn. If so, the ref will have definite grounds to throw a yellow card (a warning).

Yet, swearing in English may hold a little more weight than swearing in one’s native language. The official language of the 2010 World Cup is English meaning that many spectators and all officials are proficient in English, leaving swearing in English as a BIG no-no. As anyone who has attempted another language knows, the first thing most people want to learn is how to curse, so the move does make sense.

One thing is clear about the language education: FIFA is cracking down on illicit behavior on field and trying to turn the sport back into “a gentleman’s game”. {Associated Press}