later issued a statement confirming<\/a> that the player’s father, Jorge Messi, is receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed health condition.<\/p>\nThe statement said the 68-year-old is under medical supervision and recovering, while criticising speculation surrounding his health and calling for privacy during a difficult period.<\/p>\n
Pena apologised publicly and said the information had been passed to her during the programme as if it was verified news.<\/p>\n
“I apologise to the Messi family,” she said in a statement. “I am deeply ashamed to have been involved in this mistake.”<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old television personality and actress now says she was given unverified information. <\/p>\n
“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,” Pena wrote on social media on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“I apologise again from the heart; I was wrong.”<\/p>\n
Luzu TV also apologised and announced disciplinary action following the incident, saying the dissemination of sensitive information without proper verification was unacceptable.<\/p>\n
Nicolas Occhiato, the show’s host and producer, said: “We at Luzu TV deeply regret what happened on the air during the program El Show de Verano. For our channel, the broadcast of sensitive information without proper prior verification is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
“For this reason, Luzu TV management has decided to terminate the employment of all those responsible, and Florencia Pena has decided to step down.<\/p>\n
“We reaffirm our commitment to responsible, respectful, and rigorous journalism.”<\/p>\n
The controversy came after Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria. The 38-year-old appeared emotional during the match and later said he had experienced “difficult days” for personal reasons unrelated to football.<\/p>\n
The false report triggered widespread criticism across Argentina, with many supporters condemning the failure to verify the information before it was broadcast.<\/p>\n
Argentina’s President Javier Milei called it “Trash talk” on X, saying that Pena’s “outrageous and unscrupulous, unverified statements on a streaming channel, which would still be outrageous even if the information had been true, since they concern a citizen’s private life, remind us of the impunity with which some individuals believe they can operate simply because they have a microphone or a pen in their hand”.<\/p>\n
Argentina continue their World Cup campaign against Austria on Monday (18:00 BST).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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