Lionel Messi's Family Faces Media Storm Over False Death Report

Lionel Messi is chasing a sixth World Cup with Argentina. Back home, a media storm has erupted around his family and a reckless rush for a headline.

An Argentine streaming channel, Luzu TV, has parted ways with several members of its news team after it falsely reported the death of Messi’s father, Jorge. The report went out live. It was wrong. And the fallout was immediate.

A false death report, live on air

Presenter Florencia Peña told viewers on Luzu TV that Jorge Messi had died and suggested that Lionel Messi would not play again at this World Cup. No confirmation. No verification. Just a sensational claim dropped into a live broadcast.

The Messi family moved quickly. On Thursday, they released a statement confirming that Jorge Messi was in hospital with an undisclosed medical issue but was “progressing favourably”. The contrast between reality and what had gone to air could not have been starker.

The family’s anger was clear. They condemned the “lack of sensitivity, respect and scruples” shown in treating a “strictly private and family matter” as fodder for speculation. Only close family members, they stressed, held “real and accurate information” about Jorge’s condition. Anything else, from any other source, “should not be considered valid or truthful”.

They ended with a plea that doubles as an indictment of parts of the modern media ecosystem: responsibility, prudence, humanity. A person’s health, they said, and the peace of mind of those around them, should not be turned into a game of guesswork and clicks.

Resignations, sackings and sponsors walking away

Inside Luzu, the consequences came fast. Peña resigned and issued a public apology to the Messi family, saying she was “deeply ashamed to have been the vehicle for this pain”.

She said the false information had been relayed to her through her earpiece and presented as verified by the show’s production team. She still accepted her share of the blame.

“Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake,” she wrote on social media. “That’s why I decided to step aside and end my participation in Luzu. I apologise again from the heart; I was wrong.”

The channel, founded in 2020 and now a significant player in Argentina’s streaming landscape, also moved to distance itself from what had happened. In its own statement, Luzu called the on-air incident unacceptable and confirmed that “those responsible” had been relieved of their duties.

“For our channel, broadcasting sensitive information without proper prior verification is unacceptable,” the statement read. Management said it had decided to “part ways with all those responsible”, while noting that Peña had chosen to step down herself. Luzu pledged a renewed commitment to “responsible, respectful, and rigorous communication”.

The commercial damage followed the reputational hit. According to Argentine media reports, as many as 10 brands immediately pulled their sponsorship from the channel. In a crowded, cut-throat media market, trust is currency. Luzu paid a heavy price for spending it recklessly.

Messi’s World Cup rolls on amid controversy

All this plays out against the backdrop of Messi’s latest World Cup campaign, his record sixth. On the pitch, he opened the tournament with a performance that reminded everyone why he still bends tournaments to his will: a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Argentina, the reigning world champions, looked comfortable on the scoreboard. Off it, the noise around their captain has been anything but.

Algeria have filed a letter to FIFA’s refereeing commission, complaining about what they describe as poor officiating in that defeat, focusing on a first-half flashpoint involving Messi and Algeria captain Aïssa Mandi. Messi stepped on Mandi’s calf, Algeria’s players and supporters roared for a red card, but Polish referee Szymon Marciniak — the man who took charge of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar — did not punish the forward.

Messi stayed on. He completed his hat-trick. Algeria left with a 3-0 loss and a simmering sense of injustice.

Argentina now head to Arlington, Texas, where they will face Austria in their next Group J match on Monday. Messi’s focus, as ever, will be on the ball, the space, the next goal.

Back in Argentina, the episode around his father lingers as a stark reminder: in the race to be first, some outlets are still forgetting the one rule that matters most — be right.