NFL goes bilingual in Madrid: Ref’s Spanish penalty call highlights historic day
The NFL hosted their first regular-season game in Spain on Sunday, and one referee stole the show by calling a penalty in Spanish for the local fans.
The NFL has spent years expanding its global footprint, but on Sunday it took another step during the Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins game. It wasn’t just international, but bilingual too.
Ref’s Spanish penalty call adds local flavor to NFL’s first-ever game in Spain
During the league’s first regular-season game ever played in Spain, at the legendary Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid, fans were treated to a moment that instantly went viral. Early in the first quarter of the Commanders-Dolphins matchup, referee Shawn Smith delivered a false start call…in Spanish.
Referee Shawn Smith showed off his Spanish while making a call during the Dolphins-Commanders game in Madrid 😅pic.twitter.com/mOaTl5mqYv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 16, 2025
Smith opened his announcement with a clear “Falso inicio,” drawing cheers and laughter from the crowd before slipping back into English for the rest of the explanation. Even so, the effort landed. For the Spanish fans filling one of Europe’s most iconic venues, the gesture was a welcome local touch on a historic afternoon.
The moment echoed a similar one from 2024, when referee Shawn Hochuli famously delivered a penalty call in German during the league’s Munich matchup between the Giants and Panthers. Sunday’s attempt continued the NFL’s growing tradition of tailoring its presentation to the countries hosting international games.
And the call mattered, too. The false start pushed Washington back, derailing a potential fourth-down attempt at the goal line and forcing the Commanders to settle for a field goal. Kicker Matt Gay drilled the attempt to tie the game. The Commanders ended up losing by just three points in overtime to the Dolphins.
From players to fans to officials, the afternoon was unmistakably global. Miami and Washington made history simply by taking the field, but Smith’s Spanish announcement gave the league’s first game in Spain a moment uniquely its own.
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