Rumors of Castillo’s false identity
The national team of Ecuador keeps their place at the World Cup in Qatar. FIFA stopped the proceedings initiated after a complaint from Chile about the alleged lack of eligibility of the player Byron Castillo (23), as the world association announced on Friday. The decision can still be appealed to the FIFA Appeal Committee. In extreme cases, a conviction of the Ecuadorian association could have led to a loss of qualification for the World Cup.
The Chilean FA lodged a complaint with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee just over a month ago. According to the Chileans, Castillo was not eligible to play during the World Cup qualifying phase. FIFA had asked the associations involved to comment.
According to Chile, Castillo misrepresented his birthplace and date of birth
According to the Chilean federation, Castillo is said to have given false information about his place and date of birth. The Barcelona SC Guayaquil right-back was born in Colombia and not in Ecuador. In addition, he is actually three years older than stated. Castillo made eight appearances in World Cup qualifying. Ecuador have qualified for the finals of the World Cup for the fourth time and meet hosts Qatar, Netherlands and Senegal in Group A. Chile, on the other hand, is absent from a World Cup for the first time since 2006.
Age shouldn’t really have played a role in the investigation, since it’s about senior international matches. Only the nationality of Castillo, who has so far spent his entire career in Ecuador and even as a foreigner would not have had any major problems in obtaining the right to play within the framework of naturalization, should have been the focus.
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The actual origin of Castillo has been debated for years. Finally, in 2021, the Ecuadorian judiciary ordered Castillo to be issued a new birth certificate with his place of birth in Ecuador. Only then was he called up for the national squad for the World Cup qualifiers. “We can’t take any risks in international competitions,” said the vice-president of the Ecuadorian Football Association, Carlos Manzur, at the time.
FIFA Disciplinary Committee passes decision on eligibility of Byron David Castillo Segura
https://t.co/3lRmSF4QqA pic.twitter.com/AhRFKCxRfp
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 10, 2022
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