An Argentinian TV host has resigned after falsely reporting the death of Lionel Messi' father.
A day after Messi' family issued a statement, where it was revealed that Jorge Messi is facing an undisclosed medical issue, Florencia Peña announced on Luzu TV that Jorge has passed away and went on to suggest that the football star would not be playing the remainder of the World Cup matches.
Following the false report, Peña resigned from her position and issued an apology to the family. She blamed the production crew for feeding incorrect information to her via her earpiece during a live broadcast.
"I apologise to the Messi family for the awful moment I imagine they are going through,” Peña later wrote on social media in Spanish.
She added, "I am deeply ashamed to have been the vehicle for this pain. I must clarify that this false information was provided to me during the live broadcast as verified by the production team of the show, and I trusted it."
"Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake, and that’s why I decided to step aside and end my participation in Luzu. I apologise again from the heart; I was wrong," the host said.
Luzu, a popular news outlet in Argentina, also issued an apology and added that "those responsible" had been removed from their duties.
According to media reports in Argentina, around 10 brands immediately terminated their sponsorship with Luzu.
Notably, Lionel Messi is participating in his record sixth World Cup. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina's World Cup against Algeria and is set to face Austria on Monday in Arlington, Texas.
