UMVA has learned that the World Cup victory of Lionel Messi and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was overshadowed by a personal crisis that left both men visibly shaken.
The veteran forward's historic hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Algeria was followed by a wave of speculation about the reason behind Messi's emotional tears. Rumors quickly spread that Messi's family was dealing with a serious health issue, with some reports suggesting that his father, Jorge Messi, had passed away.
However, Messi himself swiftly denied these reports, and his family released a statement confirming that Jorge Messi was indeed facing a health challenge, but was receiving treatment and making progress. The family expressed frustration at the lack of respect for their privacy and urged the public not to spread unverified information.
The backlash in Argentina has been severe, with at least one reporter losing her job over the false report. Florencia Pena, who broke the story on live TV, later took to social media to apologize to the Messi family and announce her resignation from her role at Luzu TV.
In a heartfelt statement, Pena expressed deep regret for her role in spreading the false information and acknowledged that she had been misled by her production team. She took full responsibility for the mistake and apologized again to the Messi family for causing them further pain.
