Messi's Family Issues Statement: "Stop Excessive Speculation"

[Anchor]

Reports have been flooding in that Lionel Messi shed tears during a match due to his father's battle with illness. As wild rumors, including claims of his father's death, began to circulate, the family issued a statement directly appealing for restraint.

Reporter Lee Hyun-jung has the story.

[Reporter]

After Messi was seen wiping away tears unexpectedly following his first goal in the match against Algeria on June 17, foreign media outlets began reporting yesterday (June 18) that it was due to the deteriorating health of his father, Jorge Messi, who is currently ill.

As baseless rumors of his "death" even began to emerge, Messi's family released a statement, saying, "Jorge's condition is improving."

While they did not disclose the specific illness, they asked for an end to excessive speculation, stating that he is "under the care of medical staff."

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The Iranian national team, currently enduring a grueling schedule by setting up their base camp in Mexico instead of the host country, the United States, due to the U.S. authorities' insistence, has had their request for a "normalized travel schedule" rejected once again.

The Iranian team requested permission to travel to Los Angeles, the site of the match, two days before their second match against Belgium, but the U.S. government denied the request.

Iran, which was only granted entry into the U.S. one day before their first match against New Zealand and had to return to Mexico immediately after the game, attempted to enter the U.S. one day earlier than they did for the first match, coinciding with the ceasefire agreement, but were rejected again.

The Iranian team stated that they are "facing setbacks in match preparation" and announced that they will file an official protest with FIFA.

(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.