Luzu TV cut ties with Florencia Peña and her production team after a false live report about the death of Lionel Messi’s father was denied by the family.
Luzu TV has ended its relationship with Argentine presenter Florencia Peña and members of her production team after a live broadcast wrongly reported that Lionel Messi’s father may have died.
The claim, made during the program El Show del Verano , was quickly denied by people close to Messi, according to Varzesh3. They said Messi’s father is dealing with an illness but had not died.
The network responded with a public statement describing the broadcast of sensitive information without prior verification as unacceptable. It said those responsible for the report had been removed from the network, and that Peña had also decided to leave the project.
The episode has drawn attention because it involved private family health information about one of the world’s most prominent athletes and unfolded in the high-pressure setting of live television, where unverified information can spread instantly.
Peña later apologized on social media, saying the information had reached her by phone during the live show and appeared to have been confirmed by the production side. “I apologize to the Messi family for the horrible moments I imagine they are going through,” she wrote on X, according to the report. “I am very ashamed to have been a vehicle for this pain.”
She also announced that she would permanently leave the program.
The false report came after Messi had shown emotion following a match in which he scored three goals against Algeria. After the game, he acknowledged he was going through family difficulties, a disclosure that increased sensitivity around reports about his relatives.
Messi’s family later reiterated that his father was in a delicate physical condition but strongly denied rumors that he had died.
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