Ecuador may have used an ineligible right back in the qualifying series for the 2022 World Cup. A birth certificate would have shown on Tuesday that Byron Castillo was not born in Ecuador, but in Colombia. There is speculation in South American media that the results of the qualifiers in which Castillo competed could be scrapped, causing Ecuador to miss out on qualifying for the World Cup. However, the country’s football association does not appear to be concerned. Ecuador is one of the opponents of the Dutch in the group stage at the World Cup.
Castillo’s origins have been doubted for a long time. It was assumed that he comes from the Ecuadorian General Villamil Playas, although the Ecuadorian Football Association has never had any proof. Castillo’s club Barcelona SC was engaged in a dispute with the registry office, who were unable to verify that the fullback was indeed an Ecuadorian despite being registered with the club as such. Ecuador’s football association, the FEF, decided not to recall Castillo until his nationality was officially established. Last season, Castillo impressed with his performance at Barcelona, making the national team a logical next step.
Acaba de terminar un juicio en Ecuador, donde se han mostrado pruebas de que el jugador Byron Castillo, quien estuvo en varios convocado and varias fechas de eliminatorias por Gustavo Alfaro, es colombiano. Propiamente nacido and Tumaco, Narino. Actualmente milita en el Barcelona pic.twitter.com/ZjIOtQUqPe
— Sebastian Bejarano (@sebabejag) Apr 26, 2022
The process was speeded up and eventually the registry office determined that Castillo was indeed Ecuadorian. Multiple investigations would have shown that he was born in Playas. The FEF investigated whether Castillo could be called up under CONMEBOL and FIFA rules and everything indicated that he was eligible to play. As a result, Castillo was called up and used in eight qualifying matches. The FEF is convinced that no mistakes have been made and that all necessary investigations have been carried out, so no punishment is expected. The fact that it now appears that Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia, would not change that. The initial investigation was completed in 2021, but Castillo’s birth certificate has now been exposed.
In the eight games in which Castillo participated, Ecuador took fourteen points. He played against Paraguay (2-0 win and 3-1 loss), Chile (0-0 and 0-2 win), Uruguay (1-0 loss), Bolivia (3-0 win), Venezuela (1-0 win) and Argentina (1-1). Ecuador eventually finished fourth in the South American qualifying group and qualified directly for the World Cup. If the matches in which he participated are turned into regular 0-3 defeats, Paraguay, Bolivia and Venezuela would receive three additional points and Argentina two. The biggest profiteer, however, would be Chile, who could add five points and go from seventh to fourth. Chile would replace Ecuador in the World Cup. For the time being, however, such a scenario still seems a long way off.