Argentine Broadcaster Fires Staff After False Report on Messi's Father's Death

[Anchor]

An Argentine broadcaster has taken the extreme measure of firing all involved staff members after airing a major false report claiming that superstar Lionel Messi's father had passed away.

Reporter Choi Seung-hun has the story.

[Reporter]

This was during a live broadcast in Argentina on the 18th.

[Florencia Peña/Program Host: I don't want to share bad news, but I've just been told that Messi's father has passed away. Right in the middle of the World Cup, he will likely have to leave.]

The false report claiming that Jorge Messi, the father of Lionel Messi, had died was broadcast live.

Although the production team later issued a correction, Messi's family released a statement expressing their regret, and Argentine President Javier Milei joined the criticism, stating, "The host made an absurd remark."

As the situation escalated, the host who delivered the false report apologized, saying, "I sincerely apologize," and announced her departure from the program.

The broadcaster also stated, "We cannot tolerate the dissemination of sensitive information without prior verification," and announced that all individuals involved would be fired.

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Meanwhile, Morocco national team captain Achraf Hakimi has been sent to trial on charges of sexual assault.

The French Court of Appeal determined that there was sufficient evidence from the investigation to formally send Hakimi's sexual assault case to trial.

However, Hakimi started in today's (the 20th) match against Scotland, and the Moroccan national team expressed its support for him.

[Mohamed Ouahbi/Morocco National Football Team Coach: Did you see the game? Achraf Hakimi looked very good. We support him, and he played a great game. Above all, he is very calm about this situation.]

Hakimi also took to his social media, stating, "I have been waiting for the trial since the first day," and added, "I can finally speak," once again denying the allegations.

(Video Editing: Ha Seong-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.