Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has reportedly been told not to travel back to his native Colombia following his parents' kidnap.
On the morning of Liverpool's Premier League showdown with Nottingham Forest on Sunday, fans awoke to the distressing news that Diaz's mother and father had been taken by an armed gang.
The pair had apparently been refuelling their truck close to their home in Barrancas when their vehicle was hijacked at gunpoint by the criminals, who proceeded to drive north.
Colombia president Gustavo Petro announced on social media later on Sunday that Diaz's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, had been safely rescued, but his father remains missing.
Following the news, Diaz was unsurprisingly left out of the Reds' squad for the visit of the Tricky Trees, where Jurgen Klopp and his players expressed their support for the 26-year-old in a 3-0 win.
After opening the scoring at Anfield, Diogo Jota held up a jersey with Diaz's name and number on the back, drawing applause from fans, players and staff alike before Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah also found the back of the net.
Klopp admitted after the game that it was "absolutely impossible" to keep focus on the football on Sunday while Liverpool anxiously awaited updates on the situation, which has apparently escalated into a major military and police search for Diaz's missing father.
© Reuters
It was unclear whether Diaz had planned to head back to South America, but according to journalist Jose Hugo Illera - via The Mirror - the Liverpool man has been urged not to travel to his homeland.
Illera reportedly spoke to a close friend of the family, who informed him that Diaz's brother Gabriel was actively leading the search for his dad, and both loved ones and police advised the former Porto man to stay put out of fear for his safety.
Diaz is understood to have spoken with a member of the Colombian police force over the phone, and authorities are offering a £40,000 reward for any information leading to the safe return of the attacker's father.
Colombia Attorney General Francisco Barbosa recently told reporters that the criminal gang could attempt to cross the border into Venezuela with Diaz's father, and he implored Colombia president Petro for assistance should that be the case.
In response, the governments of Venezuela and Colombia are thought to be amassing troops near the border, while the latter's football federation have also implored Diaz senior's captors to release him "immediately".
Liverpool return to action away to Bournemouth in the fourth round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, and it remains to be seen whether Diaz will return to the squad at the Vitality Stadium.
The 26-year-old has scored 14 goals and registered nine assists in 58 games for Liverpool since joining from Porto in January 2022.
Ben Knapton
