Colombians want that their nation’s next World Cup qualifying match against Brazil be postponed until their father’s captors, who are holding Liverpool star Luis Diaz, free him.
Roy Barreras, Colombia’s ambassador to the UK, supported the effort from London on Friday night, stating that the match on November 17 should not take place until Luis Manuel Diaz is free by then.
Before the 1994 World Cup, Rio star Romario famously called a press conference and vowed to abandon his country because kidnappers took his father and demanded $7 million (£5.6 million) to free him.
It has blamed the kidnapping on a local organization known as the Northern War Front and said that the fact that he was the “relative of a great sportsman all Colombians love” was the driving force behind his promised release.However, the fact that the statement purportedly issued by the ELN is dated November 2 and is signed by Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz, a commander of the Northern War Front, has raised questions about its veracity.
Its presence was discovered late on Friday in Colombia, and authorities there are reportedly still attempting to confirm its legitimacy.
Roy Barreras rallied about one hundred of his countrymen last night, among them Brighton’s Jorelyn Carabali, a center back for the Colombian women’s national team, to spearhead demands that the Colombia-Brazil match be postponed if he’s still heard captive
