Footballer Díaz begs father's ELN kidnappers to free him

Colombian-born Liverpool footballer Luis Díaz has begged for his father's kidnappers to free him immediately and "end this painful wait".

Both of Díaz's parents were seized at gunpoint in his hometown of Barrancas by left-wing guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on 28 October.

While his mother was found, his father is still missing.

"Every second, every minute our anxiety grows," Diaz said in a statement released on Sunday.

"My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, anxious and have no words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us.

"I beg that they free him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait. In the name of love and compassion we ask they reconsider their actions and allow us to have him back."