A significant military and law enforcement search is underway in Colombia to find the father of Liverpool striker Luis Diaz.
The authorities are providing a reward of £40,000 for information that leads to his recovery.
Luis Manuel Diaz was reportedly abducted by armed individuals on Sunday, and as a result, more than 120 troops and police searched northern Colombia for him.
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On Saturday, Cilenis Marulanda, the player’s mother, was discovered in Barrancas.
When Liverpool defeated Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Diaz was not in the team.
In the process of looking for his father, the army claimed to have placed roadblocks, sent out two motorised platoons, used unmanned planes, helicopters, and a plane equipped with radar.
Although local media stated that Diaz’s mother and father were abducted by armed men riding motorbikes at a petrol station in Barrancas, their hometown in La Guajira, the northern province of Colombia, the country’s officials have not released any information regarding the alleged kidnapping.
“On behalf of Fifa and the global football community, I would like to extend our support and prayers to Luis Diaz, his family, and his friends in these difficult times,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino posted on Instagram.
The Colombia Football Federation (FCF) issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, to demand the release of Diaz’s father “without conditions”.
It added: “We ask the captors of Luis Manuel Diaz to release him now. Football is peace. Lucho, we are with you. Colombia is with you.”
When asked how “all the public forces have been deployed” to locate Diaz’s father, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said.
General William Rene Salamanca, the director of the National Police, stated in a speech on Sunday that information might earn a prize of “up to 200m pesos” (about £40,000).
Francisco Barbosa, the attorney general, said he had spoken with Diaz twice to provide him information on the inquiry.
Barbosa informed Diaz that there was information that suggested his father might be in Venezuela; he indicated that President Petro would need to take action in this case.
After Liverpool defeated Forest 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, manager Jurgen Klopp thanked Diaz, saying the win was “for our brother”.
After scoring Liverpool’s first goal, Diogo Jota put up Diaz’s number seven shirt in front of his teammates.
Prior to the match, Liverpool declared that Diaz’s welfare “will continue to be our immediate priority” and that they were “aware of an ongoing situation” involving his family.