Argentine Broadcaster Fires All Staff Involved in False Report of Messi's Father's Death

[Anchor]

An Argentine broadcaster has taken the extreme measure of firing all staff involved 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 / TV 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 also joined the criticism, stating, "The host made an absurd remark."

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

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

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Moroccan 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 following an investigation and decided to refer Hakimi's sexual assault case to a formal trial.

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

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

Hakimi also denied the allegations again on his social media, stating, "I have been waiting for the trial since the first day," and "I can finally speak out."

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