Colombian guerrilla group says it plans to release Liverpool winger Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father

A guerrilla group who kidnapped Liverpool winger Luis Diaz's father insists it will release him as it wants "to avoid any incident".

The National Liberation Army (ELN) in Columbia claimed its Northern Front was behind the snatching of both Diaz's parents for monetary reasons.

The Liverpool player's mother was quickly freed but negotiations were ongoing for the release of his father Luis Manuel Díaz.

In a statement to newspaper El Colombiano the leadership of the group said the release process had begun.

“The Northern War Front has commandos with economic missions and one of them carried out a deprivation of liberty, which when it was reported and verified that it was Lucho Diaz’s father, his release was directed because he was a relative of the great athlete that we all love as Colombians,” said the statement, signed by commander Jose Manuel Martínez Quiroz of the ELN’s Northern War Front.

“From now on the release process begins and we want to avoid any incident.”

Diaz returned to training this week but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he would leave it up to the player as to whether he wanted to be involved in Sunday’s game at Luton.

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