Chris Sutton has revealed the emotional story of his son’s health problems early in life, after reflecting on Luis Diaz’s ongoing battle.
Liverpool star Diaz scored a crucial equalizer for his side in the 1-1 draw against Luton Town, despite the ongoing search for his father, Luis Manuel, who was kidnapped last Saturday along with his wife in their hometown of Barrancas, near the Venezuelan border .
His mother was rescued hours later and returned to family, but his father remains in the care of ELN. Authorities now want to speed up the search for Luis Manuel.
Diaz was named in Liverpool’s squad for their trip to Kenilworth Road for the first time since the kidnapping and unveiled a T-shirt reading ‘freedom for dad’ after scoring.
The emotional moment was caught on camera and during Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton and co-host Ian Ladyman were quick to praise the winger for his bravery before admitting a heartfelt personal story.
Chris Sutton praised Luis Diaz’s ‘strength of character’ before revealing his own experiences balancing football and personal matters during his playing career
Luis Diaz was named in Liverpool’s squad for the first time since his father’s kidnapping before their trip to Luton, where he scored a crucial equalizer for the Reds.
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Ladyman said: ‘Now Liverpool’s equalizer was scored by Luis Diaz. His father is still missing in Colombia, kidnapped by a group called the National Liberation Army.
He didn’t play last week for obvious reasons. He came off the bench, scored the equalizer and I happen to think: this is not an exaggeration, I think this is the bravest thing I have seen from a footballer this season.
“If my dad was in that situation, if I did that, I wouldn’t be working. I wouldn’t sit here. I think it is extraordinary what Diaz has done for his club.’
In response, Sutton praised Diaz’s immense “strength of character” before speaking about the terrifying ordeal that surrounded his son’s birth in 2001.
‘I think it is mainly a huge strength of character. He might even see going out, training and playing as a kind of escapism to take his mind off things,” Sutton explained.
“From my own experience, I think I’ve only missed a game once, and that was when my son James, who was premature… we almost lost him.
‘When I had actually flown to Valencia to play a game for Celtic in the UEFA Cup. He was 28 weeks, he was a little baby.
‘We had him and he was in hospital for eight weeks so his organs could grow and he could breathe properly. Anyway, he came out and we, as a family, went back to normal.
Sutton revealed how he coped with the premature birth of his son James in 2001
Sutton revealed how the incident prevented him from playing a UEFA Cup match for Celtic
Diaz was hugged by manager Jurgen Klopp before coming on as a substitute on Sunday
‘A few weeks later I flew to Valencia to play and my wife was dropping the kids off at school and little James was choking in the car. My wife called me and we had an argument over the phone.
‘I said, “Oh, take him home, he’ll be fine.” And she didn’t, her instinct was to take him to the hospital and that was a good thing! We got to the hospital, he stopped breathing and the doctor took him away and told my wife he had died and they had brought him back.
“This was the morning of the game… I didn’t play! But it was probably the only time I really couldn’t think. It’s a little different for Diaz, but in terms of (your) head(s) being everywhere, not thinking about football.
‘Then James was on a ventilator for a number of days and then came out and was in a special unit. When he started to improve, I actually thought football was a really good way to get away from it all.”
In the latest update on the kidnapping of Diaz’s father, the head of the rebel group that kidnapped the Liverpool star’s parents admitted they made a ‘mistake’ by not freeing his father.
There are 150 uniformed soldiers in the Barrancas area as authorities try to expedite the release of Diaz’s father while peace talks continue with the ELN, designated a terrorist group by the US government.
Diaz’s (left) father Luis Manuel (right) has yet to be released by left-wing rebel group ELN – but the guerrilla group’s head is reported to have said they made a ‘mistake’ by detaining the father
The Liverpool star’s mother (above in 2019, center left) was rescued after the pair were snatched from the streets of Colombia last week, but his father’s whereabouts remain unknown
“The detention of Luis Diaz’s father by the Northern War Front was a mistake,” ELN commander Antonio Garcia wrote on his Telegram channel. AFP.
“Lucho is a symbol of Colombia, that’s how we at the ELN think about him,” Garcia added, using the nickname of the 26-year-old footballer, who returned to Liverpool training on Friday.
ELN, a left-wing rebel group, was identified Thursday as the responsible organization for the kidnapping of Luis Manuel Diaz.
The ELN group had promised to secure the release of 58-year-old Diaz within hours of identifying him as the perpetrators, but this has yet to happen.
Now, in collaboration with the National Police, the Air Force and the Army, there are 150 uniformed military personnel in Barrancas to help facilitate the transfer process.