Several news outlets including NDTV, Hindustan Times, and the Free Press Journal published stories falsely claiming that a viral video shows Lionel Messi hugging his mother after Argentina's win at the FIFA World Cup finals.
BOOM found that the woman in the video is not Messi's mother, Celia María Cuccittini, but the Argentina team's official cook - Antonia Farías.
The video is also being shared onn Facebook with a caption claiming, "Messi hugs his mother❣️"
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Several Indian outlets including NDTV, Hindustan Times, and News18 shared the video claiming that the woman is Messi's mother.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the woman in this viral video is not Messi's mother, but the Argentine national team's cook, Antonia Farías.
In the video, it can be seen that the woman hugging Messi is a brunette, sporting the blue and white Argentine jersey and has a tattoo on her left forearm. However, photos of Messi's actual mother, Celia María Cuccittini, from the same day show her wearing a purple jersey, blonde hair, and no tattoo on her forearm.
A side by side comparison of the women can be seen here:
We used related keywords in Spanish to figure the identity of the woman, and found a report by Los Andes that said the woman hugging Messi is - Antonia Farías, the official cook for the team.
Another report by Clarin informed that she is part of the albiceleste delgation, and has been working with the Argentine team for 10 years. She travelled with the team during the Copa América 2021, the Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup.
The 42-year-old "is in charge of directing and managing everything related to gastronomy around the Argentine national team," reads the report.
We also found reports by La Nacion and Perfil that confirmed that Farías was in the video and the cook of the Argentine team.
Apart from this, Television Network El Gourmet shared the photos on Twitter while giving some more details about Antonia's history with the team.
She had accompanied the team during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia too, a photo of which has been shared by the Argentine Football Association.
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