Liverpool FC Star Luis Diaz Urges ELN Guerrillas To Release His Kidnapped Father

Colombian national soccer team striker Luis Diaz wore a t-shirt that read "Libertad Para Papa" (Freedom For Papa) during a match Sunday after his father got kidnapped by the guerrilla group, National Liberation Army (ELN).

The football player returned to the field through his Liverpool team against Luton Town for a Premier League soccer match, after skipping two matches following his father's kidnapping.

After scoring a goal, the player lifted his jersey and revealed a t-shirt underneath with the words, "Libertad Para Papa." The professional footballer took to his Instagram handle on the same day to share a note alongside a picture of him lifting the t-shirt.

"Today the footballer is not speaking to you. Today Lucho Diaz, the son of Luis Manuel Diaz, is speaking to you. Mane, my dad, is a tireless worker, a pillar in the family and he has been kidnapped," he wrote, AP News reported.

"I ask the ELN for the prompt release of my father, and I ask international organizations to work together for his freedom. Every second, every minute, our anguish grows."

Diaz further shared that his entire family, including his brothers and mother, were "desperate, distressed and without words to describe" how they were feeling about the helpless situation. He noted this suffering would only come to an end after his father returned home.

He went on to address the guerrilla group, saying, "I beg you to release him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait as soon as possible."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp addressed the footballer's situation ahead of the game and said, "At the training ground he was fine, on the pitch he was fine, so that's why he is here. All the signs he gets, as far as I understand, are very positive."

Regarding the kidnapping, Klopp shared the negotiations were going on and everyone was positive, which was why Diaz wanted to return to the field.

The Colombian footballer's parents were kidnapped from a gas station in Barrancas, a small town in the Department of La Guajira. Díaz's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was saved within a couple of hours by the police by blocking the town with 40,000 people.

The police have announced a $48,000 reward for anyone who shared information about Diaz's father.