'Every minute our anguish grows': Luis Diaz makes plea to father's kidnappers

Colombia international Luis Diaz has begged his father's kidnappers to release him after scoring on his return to action for Liverpool on Sunday.

Diaz's mother and father were abducted in their home town of Barrancas, near the Venezuelan border, on October 28 by members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerilla group that has fought a 60-year conflict in the South American country.

Diaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued within hours of her capture last week, but the search goes on for his father Luis Manuel Diaz.

On Saturday, the head of ELN acknowledged the organisation had made a "mistake" in taking Diaz's parents.

After heading in a stoppage-time equaliser to prevent Liverpool suffering a shock defeat at Luton Town in a 1-1 draw on Sunday, Diaz displayed a T-shirt saying "libertad para papa" or "freedom for my father".

The 26-year-old published a statement on on X, formerly Twitter, following the match at Kenilworth Road asking the kidnappers to release his father "as soon as possible".

It read: “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. I ask the ELN for the prompt release of my father, and I ask international organisations to work together for his freedom.

"Every second, every minute our anguish grows," Diaz added.

"My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, distressed and without words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him back home.

"I beg you to release him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait as soon as possible."

Este gol es por la libertad de mi padre y de todos los