Claim: A Threads user claims that the President of Argentina has declared Oct. 6, 2026, a public holiday so citizens can stay at home and watch Lionel Messi play his final match for the Argentina national football team.
Verdict: Misleading. The Argentine government has not made such a declaration. Publicly available information only shows that Lionel Messi will make a farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin on Oct. 6, 2026, at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
Full Text
A Threads post by @rythmroundup claimed that Argentina’s President has declared Oct. 6, 2026, a public holiday and that every citizen is expected to stay at home and watch Messi play his last match in an Argentina shirt.
DUBAWA observed that some users believed the claim. This user, Pinkglowrunner25, wrote, “Let’s be honest, people were going to take the day off anyway. But it was kind of them to make it official.”
Ashleigh_promise stated, “Dang, talk about influence,” while Michelle12148 commented, “Oh wow. What a farewell that is, just superb. Truly a display of how much the entire country loves Messi. I have not heard of such high respect for anyone. That’s HISTORY by itself.”
The post has since accumulated approximately 3,000 likes, 64 comments, 48 reposts and 99 shares.
Other social media users also made similar claims here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Because it could mislead, DUBAWA investigated.
Verification
DUBAWA first checked the part of the claim concerning Messi’s final Argentina match.
That part is substantially accurate. On Sept. 15, 2026, the Argentine Football Association confirmed that Messi had been invited to play a farewell match for the national team on Oct. 6, 2026, in Argentina. AFA president Claudio Tapia announced that Messi had accepted the invitation and that the farewell would take place against Benin at the Monumental Stadium.
Reuters also reported that the AFA had called Messi up for the October farewell appearance following his retirement from international football.
However, DUBAWA found no corresponding government announcement declaring October 6 a public holiday.
The strongest evidence comes from the official Government of Argentina website, which publishes the country’s 2026 national holiday calendar. The calendar lists the October national holiday as Oct. 11, Día de la Raza (Race Day), and contains no holiday or non-working day for Oct. 6
DUBAWA also checked Argentina’s national holiday legislation. Law 27399 establishes national holidays and non-working days. It lists the country’s fixed and movable national holidays. Oct. 6 does not appear among them. October’s relevant national holiday is the Oct. 12 Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, which is subject to the applicable transfer rules.
The official government calendar currently shows Oct. 11, 2026, rather than Oct. 6, as the October national holiday.
DUBAWA also checked the Argentinian President’s official social media handles and found no such announcement. See also here and here.
This distinction matters because the viral post does not merely say Argentina is celebrating Messi. It specifically claims that the President declared a public holiday and that citizens are expected to stay home to watch the match. There was no such presidential declaration. It was not found in the Argentine government’s official holiday records.
The AFA’s announcement supports the match, not the reported public holiday. The announcement from AFA president Claudio Tapia specifically addresses Messi’s farewell appearance on Oct. 6, 2026.
Conclusion
The Threads post is false. Although Messi is expected to make a farewell appearance for the Argentina national team on Oct. 6, 2026, the President has not declared the date a public holiday.