In a scene that reflects the pride in the mother tongue and national identity, Moroccan national team goalkeeper Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti caught the attention during a press interview, when he refused to answer in a foreign language and insisted on speaking Arabic, explaining with the simple and profound statement: "Because I am Moroccan."
A Clear Message
A video clip published by the Moroccan newspaper "Hespress" shows a moment when a journalist was preparing to ask a question in French about the historic qualification of the Moroccan team, beginning with: "We are here for this historic qualification of Morocco".
However, Tagnaouti interrupted the reporter with a smile and delivered a clear message in French before switching to Arabic, saying: "Well, I’ll speak in Arabic, just so you are aware of it, and then you can do the translation. I will speak in Arabic."
When the reporter asked, "Why?", the Moroccan goalkeeper settled the matter with: "Because I am Moroccan," to which the reporter responded: "Okay, go ahead."
Previous Stances Championing the Arabic Language
This was not the first instance of Tagnaouti expressing his strong attachment to his mother tongue, as on May 16 last year, cameras captured a similar incident when the goalkeeper for Royal Army Club refused to speak French during the press conference prior to the Champions League final, preferring to speak Arabic instead.