Liverpool player Luis Diaz pleaded with his abducted father for him to be returned to his Colombian family.
Diaz filed the complaint hours after he came on as a sub and scored a late equalizer in Liverpool’s draw with Luton Town (1-1) on Sunday.
A delegate from the National Liberation Army, a Colombian militant group, claimed last week that Luis Manuel Diaz Diaz was held captive by ELN and would be released “as quickly as possible.”
After the Premier League match, Diaz posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Every second our anguish increases; my mother and my siblings and I are anxious, desperate and without words.
This suffering will end only when [my father] returns home. “I beg them [the ELN] to release him as quickly as possible, respecting the integrity of his character and ending this long wait.”
We ask you to reconsider your action and let us recover him.
Cilenis marulanda was kidnapped at a Barrancas gas station, in Colombia’s La Guajira Region, and later freed.
The search for Diaz’s father by the police and military is still ongoing.
After his parents were kidnapped, the 26-year old forward returned to Colombia and then to Britain ahead of Liverpool’s match against Luton.
Diaz, who had been brought in as a substitute for the second half, headed home Liverpool’s equalizer after Harvey Elliott’s corner.
His father was honored by his celebration. He lifted his shirt to reveal an underneath with the words, “Libertad Para Papa” (Freedom For Dad).
Diaz said in his statement about X: “I request the ELN to release my father as soon as possible, and I ask all international organizations for their involvement for his freedom.”
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s manager, said after the match that Diaz’s goal was “wonderful”, “emotional” and “fantastic,” but that “the true problem has not been sorted.”
He said: “I believe the signs coming from Colombia are positive and optimistic but, the thing that we want to know is, this hasn’t happened yet.”
Tahithchong gave Luton an early lead before Diaz scored late, capping off a counter-attacking play.
Liverpool moved up three places in the Premier League standings, and Luton climbed from the relegation area to reach 17th place.
