Mario Balotelli makes first Serie A appearance in 4 years in Genoa's win over Parma

Mario Balotelli made his first Serie A appearance in four years when he came on as a late substitute in Genoa's 1-0 win over Parma on Monday and earned a yellow card within five minutes.

Balotelli came on in the 86th minute and was booked in injury time for a foul.

The former Italy international signed with relegation-threatened Genoa last week, having last played in Italy’s top division with hometown club Brescia in 2019-20.

Parma's winless streak reached nine games with the loss, even though the host had the best of the first half with Valentin Mihaila and Anas Haj Mohamed coming close to opening the scoring.

But Genoa took control after the break as Morten Thorsby had a goal disallowed after 49 minutes and Andrea Pinamonti hit the post shortly after. Pinamonti scored the winner with 11 minutes remaining when he slotted home the rebound from Jeff Ekhator’s low shot.

It was Genoa’s first win since beating Monza on Aug. 24 and moves it off the bottom of the standings and into 17th place. Parma is 15th.

Also, Empoli earned its first home win of the Italian league season after a goal two minutes into the second half from Pietro Pellegri was enough to beat Como 1-0.

The on-loan Torino striker took advantage of poor defending before driving into the penalty box and scoring from an angle.

It was Empoli’s first goal at home this season. The club has scored only eight times in 11 matches but is still in 11th place in Serie A thanks to a strong defense that has conceded just nine times.

Como stayed in 16th.

Lazio beat Cagliari 2-1 thanks to a late penalty from Mattia Zaccagni.

The home side was gifted the lead after just two minutes when Simone Scuffet spilled Luca Pellegrini’s free kick right at the feet of Boulaye Dia, giving him easiest of finishes to notch his eighth goal of the season.

Zito Luvumbo equalized for Cagliari four minutes before halftime when the Angolan striker spun and his shot took a deflection that wrongfooted the Lazio keeper and rolled into the net.

Zaccagni then made no mistake from the spot with 14 minutes remaining after Pellegrini was felled by Nadir Zortea.

Two Cagliari players were sent off shortly afterward as Yerry Mina was first shown a second booking for a foul and Ndary Adopo also earned a second yellow for complaining about the decision.

The win lifts Lazio into fifth place, a point above Juventus and level with Fiorentina and Atalanta. Cagliari remains in 16th.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Genoa's Mario Balotelli warms up during the Serie A soccer match between Parma and Genoa at Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Mario Balotelli looks on during Genoa warm up during the Serie A soccer match between Parma and Genoa at Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Mario Balotelli, front, fights for the ball with Parma's Emanuele Valeri, right, during the Serie A soccer match between Parma and Genoa at Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Lazio's Taty Castellanos, right, and Cagliari's Sebastiano Luperto vie for the ball during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Cagliari, at Rome's Olympic stadium, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio's Boulaye Dia, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Cagliari, at Rome's Olympic stadium, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Lazio's Taty Castellanos controls the ball during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Cagliari, at Rome's Olympic stadium, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Empoli's Emmanuel Gyasi runs with the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Empoli and Como, at the "Carlo Castellani - Computer Gross Arena" stadium in Empoli, Italy, Monday , Nov. 4, 2024. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

Empoli's Pietro Pellegri celebrates after scoring his team's first goal, during the Serie A soccer match between Empoli and Como, at the "Carlo Castellani - Computer Gross Arena" stadium in Empoli, Italy, Monday , Nov. 4, 2024. (Marco Bucco/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Andrea Pinamonti, center, reacts during the Serie A match between Parma and Genoa at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Parma's Anas Haj Mohamed reacts during the Serie A match between Parma and Genoa at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Parma's Dennis Man vies for the ball with Genoa's goalkeeper Nicola Leali during the Serie A match between Parma and Genoa at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy, Monday Nov. 4, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since being detained in December on what his family said were politically motivated accusations.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. The loss left his family reeling.

Now scores of families — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners" in the hope that they might have a more optimistic future than Torres.

Foro Penal, which tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, has received a “flood of messages” from families since last week, said Alfredo Romero, director of the nongovernmental organization.

“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”

The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the operation that captured Maduro in the early hours of Jan. 3. The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.

Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.

Romero said that of the roughly 300 families who reached out to Foro Penal, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.

As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.

But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.

Before Torres' funeral on Tuesday, a procession of cars and motorcycles stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.

“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.

Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.

Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.

Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside a Rome airport Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”

“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.

The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.

But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.

Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.

As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.

That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Relatives of political prisoners gather at the Central University of Venezuela to call for their release in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, lays out photos of political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)