Luis Díaz Faces Backlash After Not Attending Diogo Jota’s Funeral
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 21: Luis Diaz of Liverpool in action during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Everton FC at Anfield on October 21, 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Colombian striker Luis Díaz is facing backlash for not attending the funeral of Diogo Jota, the Portuguese player who tragically passed away after a car crash last week. Díaz and Jota were teammates at English side Liverpool. But the controversy isn’t just about the fact that Díaz did not attend the funeral; it’s about what he was doing while the funeral was taking place.
Jota’s funeral took place on July 5th in Gondomar, Portugal. Liverpool players, including captain Virgil van Dijk, manager Jürgen Klopp, Andy Robertson, Darwin Núñez, and Curtis Jones, among others, were present at the funeral. Also present were many of his Portugal national team teammates.
Spain’s COPE reported that Díaz was not present at the funeral because he had previous commitments promoting an influencers fútbol tournament in Barranquilla, Colombia. Díaz also uploaded images to social media of himself laughing and dancing with famous Colombian streamers. He later deleted them. He also posted a tribute to Jota after news of his death was announced.
Fans, however, are not pleased with the Colombian player. People are even saying he shouldn’t play at Liverpool again after this.
“When the entire Liverpool squad was attending Diogo Jota’s funeral, the person who supported him when Lucho’s father was kidnapped,” one tweet read in Spanish. “This is reason enough for him to never play for Liverpool again.”
Some are making comparisons between Diogo Jota when Díaz’s father was kidnapped, and Díaz now.
And between the way the rest of the Liverpool team has acted, and Diaz.
With some saying they’ve lost all respect for the player. “There’s room for everything, and when things like this happen, the least you should do as a human being is be present. He preferred to meet an influencer than attend the funeral of Diogo Jota, who supported him when his father was kidnapped.”
At the moment, Luis Díaz has not commented further on being absent from the funeral of Diogo Jota.