Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Could Ecuador really be thrown out of the World Cup over 'ghost' Castillo's identity scandal?

goal.com, 12 May 2022, 14:00
GOAL takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and around the world The Norwegian's £51m switch to the Etihad was finally confirmed on Tuesday, and the fallout from this potentially era-defining deal will be colossal GOAL takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and around the world

The World Cup is the pinnacle of football achievement and, for those countries lucky enough to make the finals, the reward for four years of hard work and sacrifice to battle through qualifying competitions across the planet; putting themselves through punishing schedules and thousands of kilometres of travel.

Ecuador earned their place at the party after a fantastic CONMEBOL campaign, but now face a new fight, as they wait to find out if they are to miss out on Qatar 2022 in the cruellest of fashions.

Last week, Chile filed an official complaint with FIFA over the inclusion in several Ecuador games of one Byron Castillo.

Castillo, a talented, versatile right-back and midfielder who has stood out at club level with Guayaquil's Barcelona, was handed his international debut in 2021 by Tricolor coach Gustavo Alfaro, and was a fixture in the nation's final World Cup qualifiers as they stormed to third place in the standings behind runaway leaders Brazil and Argentina.

According to Chile, however, the 23-year-old is not who he says he is, and was not born in Ecuador at all, but rather in neighbouring Colombia.

That complaint was addressed by FIFA on Wednesday, as the world governing body opened an official disciplinary review into the case in order to determine whether Ecuador flouted nationality rules in fielding Castillo.

"We have investigated the case in full to discover where the player was really born and we are sure: he was born in Colombia," the Chilean FA's lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo, who is pursuing the nation's legal action, told Marca.

"What we are affirming categorically is that Byron Javier Castillo Segura was born in Tumaco, Colombia on July 25, 1995, and Byron David Castillo Segura, who was supposedly born on November 10, 1998 does not exist, he is a ghost.

"This is an adulteration, forgery and even a crime under Ecuadorian law."

Chile's interest in pressing this charge, which Ecuador has emphatically denied, is clear. If Castillo is found to have played illicitly, the Tricolor are in danger of forfeiting the 14 points picked up while he was on the field in qualifying, which would pull them down from fourth place to second-bottom, ahead of only Venezuela.

There is a precedent for such a punishment in CONMEBOL, too. Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Peru and Chile were both awarded wins for matches in which Bolivia had fielded the ineligible Nelson Cabrera, an outcome that sent the former to Russia while Chile missed out by virtue of goal difference.

By a quirk of fate, moreover, this time the Roja are the only team who could benefit from Ecuador's sanction. Aside from featuring against Chile in both clashes, an Ecuador win and a draw, Castillo faced already-qualified Argentina and Uruguay, as well as Bolivia, Venezuela and Paraguay, who do not have any hope of making the cut.

The defender missed games against fifth-placed Peru and sixth-placed Colombia through injury, meaning that while Chile would gain five points, under a hypothetical FIFA ruling their rivals would receive nothing - pushing La Roja into fourth and an automatic berth in Qatar.

It should be clarified, however, that the Castillo case differs significantly from that of its predecessor.

Paraguay-born Cabrera represented a clear transgression of the rules: he had only been resident in Bolivia for four years rather than the necessary five before debuting for his adopted nation and even in their (later dismissed) appeal, Bolivia made no attempt to dispute that fact, merely the timing of the complaint and FIFA's right to investigate.

Castillo, meanwhile, stands accused of doctoring his own birth certificate, an allegation that first arose in 2015, leading him to be released by Emelec, and two years later when he was withdrawn from Ecuador's Under-20 South American Championship squad as a precautionary measure.

One particular club has come under the spotlight: his first side Norte America, who in 2017 were the subject of an investigation which found irregularities in the identity of no fewer than 73 players over a period of 10 years.

Nevertheless, in 2021, prior to his full debut, a judicial review determined that Castillo was Ecuadorian, verifying his records and giving Alfaro the green light to pick the youngster for the first time.

"I don't know why this issue has come up again, basically because of the fact that a false piece of news in Colombia has led on the ANFP (Chilean FA), which didn't even finish in the first six spots," Castillo's lawyer, Jose Massu, fired to Radio Redonda on Wednesday after the news broke.

"There has never been a formal complaint against Byron Castillo... What we did have was a sanction from the federation, which punished the player without following procedure because they presumed a birth certificate with the same name in Colombia belonged to Byron Castillo.

"Byron Castillo not only has never lived in Colombia, he has always lived and played in Ecuador. I don't know where this madness has come from."

In any case, Castillo is an Ecuadorian citizen and has played his entire professional career in the country.

If, in the worst-case scenario, FIFA does find his papers are forged, that would not necessarily mean Castillo was ineligible to play, but rather leave the player himself open to charges, punishable by suspension and fines, but not necessarily the loss of points for Ecuador - unless the country or federation was found to have been complicit in the forgery.

Ecuador are confident about beating the sanction, while Massu insists that the chances of losing their World Cup spot are "Zero, per cent... Mainly because Byron Castillo, was, is and will be Ecuadorian until the day he dies."

But the Tricolor must still face up to some nervous weeks and months ahead, until FIFA, and even higher authorities in the case of appeal, rule on this convoluted case of possible mistaken identity.

Top News

22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly told Mykhaylo Mudryk that he is still in their first-team plans ahead of the January transfer window. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has reportedly not yet made a full recovery from the knock he suffered prior to the international break. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Legendary striker Robert Lewandowski has revealed he was close to joining Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 2012. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Xabi Alonso will hope that his Bayer Leverkusen side can return to winning ways when they welcome strugglers Heidenheim to BayArena in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign on Saturday. 21 November 2024 talksport.com Wayne Rooney gives Romeo Montague a run for his money with wife Coleen revealing he writes her love poetry. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Six places separate Wolfsburg and Union Berlin in the Bundesliga table ahead of Saturday's gameweek 11 match at the Volkswagen Arena. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Borussia Dortmund have already fallen behind in the title race and will at least aim to stay within touching distance of the Champions League qualifications spots when they welcome Freiburg to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk A crunch clash at the bottom sees Heracles and RKC Waalwijk go head to head at the Asito Stadium on Saturday evening in gameweek 13 of the Eredivisie season. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Stuttgart sit a disappointing 11th in the Bundesliga table before welcoming cellar-dwelling VfL Bochum in Saturday's gameweek 11 action at the MHPArena. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has confirmed that Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa will both be available for Saturday's Premier League away meeting with Everton. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Benfica and Estrela Amadora return to action on Saturday when they go head to head at the Estadio da Luz in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal. 21 November 2024 talksport.com West Ham have sounded out former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic as a potential replacement for Julen Lopetegui, talkSPORT understands. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to move back into the top six of the League One table, Huddersfield Town will welcome Charlton Athletic to the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday. 21 November 2024 talksport.com talkSPORT's Ally McCoist has opened up about living with Dupuytren's contracture, an incurable hereditary condition that affects the hands. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Luton Town will welcome Hull City to Kenilworth Road on Saturday for a crucial game at the bottom end of the Championship table. 21 November 2024 talksport.com Martin Odegaard is everything for Arsenal - he's at the heartbeat of everything positive they do. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming to go top of the Championship table with a fifth straight victory, Sheffield United will travel to take on Coventry City on Saturday. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk RB Leipzig will aim to prevent the five-point gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich from extending by claiming all three points at Hoffenheim's PreZero Arena on Saturday. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Champions League hopefuls Eintracht Frankfurt will hope to maintain their five-point advantage over Werder Bremen after hosting them on Saturday at Deutsche Bank Park in their 11th Bundesliga outing of the season. 21 November 2024 talksport.com Newcastle defender Lewis Hall says his lack of game time in the first-team left him 'in a dark place' last season. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams who could really do with a victory kick off round 13 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season as Go Ahead Eagles welcome Almere City to De Adelaarshorst on Saturday afternoon. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Promotion-chasing Barnsley are favourites heading into Saturday's gameweek 17 League One match at Oakwell. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Feyenoord and Heerenveen will both be looking to pick up where they left off right before the international break in Saturday's meeting at De Kuip in matchday 13 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City officially announce that manager Pep Guardiola has signed a two-year contract extension. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Girona will be bidding to make it three straight wins in La Liga for the first time this season when they welcome Espanyol to Estadi Montilivi on Saturday evening. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk An in-form Las Palmas will be aiming to make it five wins from their last six matches in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Mallorca on Saturday night. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Following four straight defeats leading into the international break, Aston Villa will return to action on Saturday, when Crystal Palace pay a visit to Villa Park. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have reportedly set a £100m asking price for Enzo Fernandez amid interest from Real Madrid. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Saudi Pro League action will return to the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium this weekend when Al Khaleej play host to the defending champions Al-Hilal on Saturday evening. 21 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it five straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign against Alaves at Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday afternoon.