Ecuador is once again at risk of being eliminated from the World Cup following a shocking player admission in an interview revealing that he used a fake birth certificate in an official investigation and that the Ecuador Football Federation (FEF) covered up. The 23-year-old defender and midfielder Byron Castillo is under fire following alleged falsification of documents to play in international matches.
In April, the Ecuador national team faced a possible expulsion in the World Cup 2022 in Qatar as evidence showed that they fielded a non-Ecudorian player in the qualification rounds. FIFA dismissed the claim and ruled that Castillo was born in Ecuador. Earlier this month, an old audio recording of an interview resurfaced, with Castillo admitting that he was born in Colombia.
In an interview conducted by the FEF’s Investigative Commission, four years ago, Castillo identified himself as “Bayron Javier Castillo Segura ”, which opposed the “Byron David Castillo Segura ” written on his Ecuadorian document. He also mentioned that he was born in 1995, contrary to his Ecuadorian birth certificate that claims he was born in 1998.
He then detailed how he left Colombia to pursue his professional soccer career. “I crossed the border because, you know, teams from Tumaco play in San Lorenzo,” Castillo said. He added: “I went to do some trials in San Lorenzo, I remember that very well. I never got picked for any of the teams at those trials, but my friend who was picked never turned up so I went instead.”
Earlier, the Paraguayan Football Association casted this suspicion on Castillo. After investigations, the authorities claim that Castillo was born in General Villamil, in the province of Guayas, Ecuador. Castillo’s Ecuadorian nationality was accredited by the Ecuadorian Justice in the same year, registering him under the name Byron David Castillo Segura. Castillo has played in eight World Cup qualifying games.
After FIFA’s ruling favoring FEF, the Chilean FA appealed the decision in July. The midfielder was lined up by the coach Gustavo Alfaro in eight games for the qualifiers and has played against Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia. If the allegations are confirmed, Ecuador will sink at the bottom of the qualifiers and put Chile in fourth place.
In a previous statement, FEF chief Francisco Egas answered the claims of Castillo’s Colombian origin, saying that the document published by the Colombian journalist Sebastián Bejarano “does not exist” and “is just another piece of news”. He also said that there is no new trial open on Castillo’s nationality. Castillo plays for Leon in the Mexican league.
Ecuador have qualified alongside powerhouses Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay despite losing to Paraguay 3-1 and being winless in four of their last 5 group games. They were absent from the World Cup 2018 finals in Russia and have never gone past the last 16 at previous two World Cups where they were qualified. They were drawn alongside host Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.
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