Published On 5/7/2026
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Last update: 12:03 (Mecca time)
In a scene that reflects the extent of pride in the mother tongue and national identity, the Moroccan national team goalkeeper, Ahmed Reda Al-Taknaouti, caught the attention during a press interview, when he refused to answer in a foreign language and insisted on speaking in Arabic, and he justified this with a simple and profound sentence, “Because I am Moroccan.”
Clear message
A video clip spread through the Moroccan newspaper “Hespress”, documenting the moment a journalist prepared to ask a question in French about the Moroccan national team’s historic qualification. The reporter began his speech by saying: “We are here for this historic qualification for Morocco.”
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But Al-Taknaouti interrupted the reporter with a smile, and sent him a clear message in French before switching to Arabic. He said: “Okay, I will speak in Arabic, just so you know that, and then you can do the translation. I will speak in Arabic.”
When the reporter asked his question: “Why?”, the Moroccan guard’s response settled the matter: “Because I am Moroccan,” to which the reporter replied: “Okay, go ahead.”
Previous positions in love with the language of Dhaad
This was not the first incident in which Al-Taknouti expressed his strong adherence to his mother tongue. On May 16, cameras documented a similar incident when the Royal Army Club goalkeeper refused to speak French during the press conference that preceded the African Champions League final, and preferred to speak in Arabic.
In response to the request of the media officer of the Confederation of African Football, Al-Taknaouti affirmed his pride in the Arabic language when he said: “The Arabic language is our language.”
Wide acclaim
The new video, which was published by Moroccan websites, was welcomed by social media pioneers and the admiration of the audience, and followers praised the Moroccan player and his stance, which represents a state of pride in the Arabic language and its culture in the fields of international football.
Various personalities interacted with the event, as blogger Ahmed Al-Qari wrote: “The situation has reached the point where we need an answer to the question of why we speak our language. This is exactly why we must definitively decide the language of communication in Morocco: Arabic brings us together.”
For his part, Qatari writer Jaber Al-Harami commented on the situation, and wrote on his account: “A great stance from the Moroccan guard by insisting on answering in Arabic… All best wishes for success to the brothers in Morocco… Arabic is the language of a nation that created a civilization whose features still exist… and will return soon.”
The tweeter “Hajar” also participated in the discussion, and wrote on her account to confirm the same meaning: “Al-Taknaouti considers his mother tongue, Arabic, to be better than any other language, and there is no debate on this issue.”
The “Atlas Lions” are the first African and Arab team ever to succeed in reaching the quarter-finals in two consecutive editions of the World Cup (2022 and 2026). With this unique achievement, Morocco not only consolidated its continental leadership, but also broke the record to become the only African team to have reached the quarter-finals in history.
Source: Moroccan press + social media sites
