TV host quits after she falsely reported Lionel Messis dad died during World Cup

An Argentine TV host has quit after she erroneously reported that Lionel Messi’s father had died — two days after the soccer icon led the Argentina national team to victory in their first World Cup match.Florencia Peña made the false report surrounding Jorge Messi’s health during a live stream broadcast of Luzu TV’s “El Show del Verano” on Thursday.“I don’t want to break bad news, but Messi’s father just died,” Peña said, according to the US Sun.“Right in the middle of the World Cup, he’s going to have to leave,” Peña falsely assumed.The Messi family called out the irresponsible reporting, sharing that Jorge Messi had been battling an undisclosed health issue but hadn’t died.“He is currently under medical supervision, recovering, and progressing favorably within his current condition,” the family said in a statement, according to ESPN.“Given the versions, rumors, and speculation that have circulated in recent hours, the family wishes to express its deep displeasure at the lack of sensitivity, respect, and scruples with which some people have treated a strictly private and family matter,” the family wrote.It was not revealed what illness the elder Messi was battling or what his condition is.The 51-year-old television personality claimed she was given unverified information about Messi’s 68-year-old father and ran with it.“I have to clarify that this false information was given to me live on air as if it had been checked the show’s production team, and I trusted it,” Peña wrote on her Instagram Story Thursday.Peña apologized for the on-air blunder and said she was leaving the show on Thursday.“I apologize to the Messi family for the awful moment I imagine they are going through.I am very ashamed to have been the vehicle for this pain,” she said.

“Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake, and that is why I decided to step aside and end my participation in Luzu.I apologize again from the bottom...