Victoria Granatto, a member of Las Leonas, champions of the 2026 World Hockey Championship in the Netherlands, decided to speak out publicly after the controversy generated by her comments about Lionel Messi.
The forward had spoken in an interview about the message that the captain of the Argentine national football team, Lionel Messi, had sent to the players to congratulate them on the title. In that context, she questioned the importance that some of her teammates placed on the footballer's greeting and highlighted the legacy of the great figures of Argentine hockey.
“It bothers me. Sorry. All good with the football team, but it seems like everyone wanted Messi to greet them. Girls, it's Messi, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that we have Lucha (Luciana Aymar), Mechi (Mercedes Margalot). Our history is much more,” she had expressed.
Her statements had a strong impact on social media. Days later, Granatto set her Instagram account to private and later posted a message to explain her position.
Granatto stated that her words were taken out of context
In her defense, the player maintained that a phrase from that interview was spread without considering the full context of the conversation.
“In these days, a phrase of mine went viral, absolutely taken out of context, and today these words come from my heart. I clarify this situation because it makes me uncomfortable, it bothers me, and inevitably it hurts and affects me. They took out of context a phrase within an interview I gave a week ago and misinterpreted it,” she wrote.
The world champion also emphasized that her intention was never to question Messi, but to highlight the historical figures of Argentine hockey.
“My only intention was to value our hockey idols, who are the beacon for thousands of girls practicing our beautiful sport... I find it absurd to have to tell you about the admiration and respect we all have for Messi, and the joy that his message of support meant for the team. It made us very happy and we will miss him,” she stated.
Additionally, Granatto denounced that the controversy ended up diverting attention from other aspects of the achievement.
“When uncomfortable truths are said, a phrase is extracted and taken out of context to hurt the one who says it and to discourage them from speaking out again. These are horrible rules. All of this is part of an operation that has the sole objective of dimming the rest of the things,” she pointed out.
