An Argentine TV host has quit after she erroneously reported that Lionel Messi’s father had died — two days after the soccer icon led the Argentina national team to victory in their first World Cup match.
Florencia Peña made the false report surrounding Jorge Messi’s health during a live stream broadcast of Luzu TV’s “El Show del Verano” on Thursday.
“I don’t want to break bad news, but Messi’s father just died,” Peña said, according to the US Sun.
“Right in the middle of the World Cup, he’s going to have to leave,” Peña falsely assumed.
The Messi family called out the irresponsible reporting, sharing that Jorge Messi had been battling an undisclosed health issue but hadn’t died.
“He is currently under medical supervision, recovering, and progressing favorably within his current condition,” the family said in a statement, according to ESPN.
“Given the versions, rumors, and speculation that have circulated in recent hours, the family wishes to express its deep displeasure at the lack of sensitivity, respect, and scruples with which some people have treated a strictly private and family matter,” the family wrote.
It was not revealed what illness the elder Messi was battling or what his condition is.
The 51-year-old television personality claimed she was given unverified information about Messi’s 68-year-old father and ran with it.
“I have to clarify that this false information was given to me live on air as if it had been checked the show’s production team, and I trusted it,” Peña wrote on her Instagram Story Thursday.
Peña apologized for the on-air blunder and said she was leaving the show on Thursday.
“I apologize to the Messi family for the awful moment I imagine they are going through. I am very ashamed to have been the vehicle for this pain,” she said. “Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake, and that is why I decided to step aside and end my participation in Luzu. I apologize again from the bottom of my heart: I was wrong.”
Conflicting reports claim Peña and the production staff involved in the false reporting were all dismissed from the station.
“Luzu TV deeply regrets what happened on air during the program. Our channel finds the dissemination of sensitive information without proper prior verification unacceptable. For this reason, Luzu TV management has decided to dismiss all those responsible. Florencia Peña will decide to step down,” the station said in a statement shared by founder Nico Occhiato. “We reaffirm our commitment to responsible, respectful and rigorous communication.”
Peña faced fierce backlash from Messi fans and Argentinians over the error, including an online scolding from President Javier Milei.
“TRASH CORP,” the 55-year-old politician wrote on X.
“The aberrant and unscrupulous unchecked statements by Florencia Peña on a streaming channel—which would still be aberrant even if the information had been true, since they trample on a citizen’s private life—remind us of the impunity with which some individuals believe they can operate simply by holding a microphone or a pen in hand, as if that fact implied not only that they don’t have to verify the information they spread, but also that they need not adhere to the most basic tenets of human decency, morality, or respect for the truth,” he said.
Milei called Peña a “low-rent gossipmonger” as he credited Luzu TV for issuing a correction and booting “this nefarious character.
Messi scored a hat trick, leading Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria in its first match of the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday.
After his first goal, the soccer legend was visibly flooded with emotion as he wiped tears from his eyes with his jersey.
He remained cryptic after the game when he explained his very public display of emotion.
“My tears after the first goal? I’ve had some tough days. It wasn’t related to football. And those feelings were because of that,” Messi said in Spanish after the match, according to the Associated Press. “I thank my teammates, the coaching staff and the delegation for helping me.”
