Media outlets got it wrong; Messi hugging woman after WC final is not his mom

A video of Argentine football player Lionel Messi embracing a woman on the field has been making the rounds on social media recently. It has been claimed that the woman seen here is Messi’s mother. Several media outlets also carried the image with the same claim.

News 24 identified the woman in the clip as the footballer’s mother.

India TV also claimed that the woman hugging Messi was his mother.

Similarly, several media outlets including Hindustan Times, Republic World, Times Now, The Statesman, Indian Express, NDTV, and The Quint Hindi ran the image with the accompanying claim.

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Fact Check

Alt News performed a keyword search which led us to a report by The Sun. It identified the crying woman sharing the emotional moment with Lionel Messi as Antonia Farias, the chef for Argentina’s national football team.

Roy Nemer, who reports on the Argentina national team, tweeted that Messi was hugging Antonia Farias, the head cook of the Argentina national team.

Lionel Messi hugging Antonia Farías, the head cook of the Argentina national team.pic.twitter.com/Zl87mXBdGI

— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) December 21, 2022

Argentinian sports news outlet Varsky Sports also clarified in a tweet that the woman seen in the video was not Messi’s mother, but Antonia Farias, the chef for the country’s football team.

En un momento todos pensamos que era la mamá de Lionel. Es Antonia Farías, la cocinera que está en el corazón de los jugadores de la Selección por sus milanesas. Recomendamos la lectura de este hilo. Para la historia. 🇦🇷🏆👏👩‍🍳 https://t.co/GTPBbCxVfD

— VarskySports (@VarskySports) December 20, 2022

Alt News also performed a search on Facebook to find Antonia Farias, the woman in the video. There are several pictures of her on her Facebook profile. We compared the tattoo on her arm seen in one of these pictures with a frame from the viral video. As shown in the side-by-side comparison below, it is clear that both the tattoos are identical.

To sum it up, several social media users and media outlets wrongly identified the woman embracing Lionel Messi after their World Cup win as the player’s mother. In reality, the woman is Argentinian team chef Antonia Farias.