Journalist slammed for horrific comments about Diogo Jota after making huge error in article

A Mexican journalist has been slammed for his response after naming Diogo Jota in an article about Portugal’s FIFA World Cup 2026 squad. 

Jota tragically died in a car crash last year, but was mentioned in Edgar Valero’s article in El Heraldo was supposed to be about Portugal’s upcoming friendly against Mexico, but ended up attracting attention for all the wrong reasons.

In the article, he spoke about how Cristiano Ronaldo might be missing from the fixture, but Portugal could use the game to evaluate a return for Jota. 

Sadly, that was a huge factual error because – as mentioned – Jota died last year. 

As you can imagine, people were offended and shocked to see this error made, and you might think that an apology would be the least that they could do.

However, despite calls from Portugal and Liverpool fans for the journalist to be sacked and for the article to be amended or removed, the article remains live (at the time of writing) and no apology has been issued. 

Quite the opposite, in fact. 

In response to the backlash following the piece, Valero shared an angry tweet in which he defended himself and even mentioned Jota again. 

He wrote: “Alright, thanks for the likes and retweets.

“I was thinking of interviewing Jota but the poor b****** died!!! 

“Oh well, what can ya do… 

“Next time I’ll make sure the dude in question is still alive. 

“And I’ll be even more on point when it comes to writing. No worries.”

That comment attracted yet further criticism. 

One person wrote: “The comic pose doesn’t suit you this time, Edgar. 

“Honor the profession, dignify your words.”

Another wrote: “This is completely unacceptable.

“Diogo Jota’s passing deserves respect, not careless or flippant commentary. 

“Edgar Valero’s post is both factually wrong and deeply insensitive, and it undermines journalistic integrity.

“A formal apology from both Valero and El Heraldo is long overdue, along with accountability measures to prevent such disrespect in the future.”

A third said: “Absolute nonsense, can’t be using the name of a deceased player to chase clout

“How disrespectful this is to his family, his country, and Liverpool FC, this Journalist has to be suspended or fired.”