Liverpool striker Diaz asked for his father’s release

LIVERPOOL. In a moving statement, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz asked for the release of his kidnapped father: “Today it is not the footballer who speaks to you, but Lucho Diaz, son of Luis Manuel Diaz. Mane, my father, is a tireless worker, a pillar of the family , and he was kidnapped. I ask the ELN for the immediate release of my father and the international organizations to work together for his freedom,” the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram.

ELN stands for Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional, a guerrilla movement in Colombia. The striker’s parents were kidnapped in Colombia a week ago, but the mother was rescued. “With every second, with every minute, our fear increases,” Diaz wrote.

The striker was back in the Liverpool squad against Luton and scored the 1-1 in stoppage time. After his goal, he pulled up his jersey and showed the words “Freedom for Dad” on his T-shirt. “We wanted to give Lucho – and he wanted it too – the opportunity to distract himself a little from the other things,” said coach Jürgen Klopp after the game. The signs from Colombia are “rather positive, but what we all want to hear has not happened yet.” After the goal, no words were necessary between the two of them, Klopp explained. “We just hugged each other. We know how he feels. He’s desperately waiting for the right news.”