World Cup Announcer Accused Of Making Disgraceful Comment About Ciara

Grammy Award winner Ciara was at Lumen Field this Friday to watch the United States men's national team face Australia in a World Cup match. Unfortunately, the beloved singer made headlines for the wrong reasons.

During the second half of action between the U.S. and Australia, the broadcast showed Ciara in a suite with her husband, former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson. It didn't take long for that brief clip to surface on social media.

Soccer commentator Leandro Zapponi was accused of asking, "Who is this black woman?" during Friday's live broadcast.

Zapponi, however, claims the video that's making the rounds on social media was AI-generated.

"In times of Fake News, these people are just trying to cause harm and spread hatred. AI-modified audios that aren't even funny," Zapponi wrote on social media. "It's sad to have to clarify that I never said and would never say something like that. Here's the real clip from the broadcast."

The Argentinian commentator also shared a snippet of the real footage from Friday's match.

Fans offer their thoughts on this concerning situation.

It appears a handful of fans familiar with Zapponi's work are taking his side in this matter.

"My solidarity with Leandro," one fan wrote on X. "They cause a lot of harm, they have to pay for this kind of thing, it can't be free to be so damaging."

"All my support, Zappo. We know about your professionalism," a second fan commented..

"Learn to differentiate fake news from the real ones," another fan said. "It's a shame that people edit videos like that and also that many believe they actually happened. They can cause someone to lose their job."

If this video was truly AI-generated, that's an awful sign of what's to come for the world of sports.

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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 1:08 PM.