Luis Diaz Travels With Liverpool As He Waits On Father’s Release

Luis Diaz, who is awaiting the release of his father, who was abducted, is travelling with Liverpool to Toulouse for their Europa League match.

On October 28, the Colombian international witnessed the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) organisation kidnap his father, Luis Manuel Diaz.

READ ALSO: Abductors Of Luis Díaz’s Father Issue Fresh Update 

His mother was also involved in that ordeal, but she has since been rescued.

The ELN has promised to let Diaz senior go, but a long-running dispute with the Colombian government is delaying proceedings.

Luis Manuel’s family has asked for documentation proving he is still alive, and the local administration is carrying out a “liberation operation” in the hopes of having good news “soon.”

The ELN has stated: “On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr Luis Manuel Diaz, father of the player Luis Diaz.

“From that date, we began the process to accomplish this as soon as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces. The area is still militarised, they are carrying out flyovers, disembarking troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation.

“This situation is not allowing for the execution of the release plan quickly and safely, where Mr Luis Manuel Diaz is not at risk. If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase the risks. We understand the anguish of the Diaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.”

Diaz will be participating when Liverpool return to continental action in France on Thursday, despite the fact that he has a lot going on in his personal life.

He came off the bench to provide the Reds a late equaliser in their most recent Premier League match, a 1-1 draw against Luton. When he found the target, he raised up his shirt to reveal a message to his father that said, “LIBERTAD PARA PAPA” (Freedom for Papa).

While Diaz is expected to play some part against Toulouse, Liverpool are without club captain Virgil van Dijk.

Jurgen Klopp said when explaining the Dutch defender’s absence: “Virgil is a little bit ill.

“It will not be a big thing but we did not want to have him on the plane, if some others have it as well.

“I have it a little bit but for me it is not a problem, that’s why we left him at home. He should be absolutely all right for the weekend.”

The Reds will be back in domestic action on Sunday when they face Brentford. Other absentees for the team are Curtis Jones (hamstring) and Ryan Gravenberch (knee).