An Argentine TV host has resigned after falsely reporting that Lionel Messi’s father had died.
Florencia Peña made the erroneous claim about Jorge Messi’s health during a live broadcast of Luzu TV’s El Show del Verano on Thursday, June 18, just two days after the football icon led Argentina to victory in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I don’t want to break bad news, but Messi’s father just died,” Peña said, according to The U.S. Sun.
“Right in the middle of the World Cup, he’s going to have to leave,” she wrongly speculated.
The Messi family quickly debunked the report, confirming that Jorge Messi had been battling an undisclosed health issue but was alive and recovering.
“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 statement added.
The family did not disclose the nature of Jorge Messi’s illness.
The 51-year-old television personality later explained that she had received the unverified information during the live broadcast and mistakenly trusted that it had already been confirmed by the show’s production team.
“I have to clarify that this false information was given to me live on air as if it had been checked by the show’s production team, and I trusted it,” Peña wrote on her Instagram Story on Thursday.
She apologized to the Messi family and announced that she was stepping away from the show.
“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 wrote.
“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 later emerged over whether Peña resigned voluntarily or was dismissed. Some reports claimed she and members of the production team responsible for the false report were fired.
In a statement shared by Luzu TV founder Nico Occhiato, the station said:
“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 has decided to step down.”
“We reaffirm our commitment to responsible, respectful, and rigorous communication.”
Peña also faced widespread backlash from Messi fans and many Argentinians, including criticism 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 described Peña as a “low-rent gossipmonger” while praising Luzu TV for issuing a correction and removing “this nefarious character.”
Messi scored a hat-trick as Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, June 16.
