The Chilean Football Federation has seized FIFA to challenge the validity of the Ecuadorian nationality of Byron Castillo, aligned against his national team in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Chile finished seventh in the South American zone and will therefore not see Qatar, while Ecuador, fourth behind Uruguay (3rd), Argentina (2nd) and Brazil (1st), qualified.

The complaint was filed for "use of a falsified birth certificate, false declaration of age and false nationality" of Byron Castillo.

According to the Chilean Federation, "there is countless evidence that the player was born in Colombia, in the city of Tumaco on July 25, 1995 and not on November 10, 1998 in the Ecuadorian city of Playas".

With this appeal, Chile hopes that Ecuador will be sanctioned and that it will be able to compete in the World Cup in its place.

Chile drew 0-0 in Ecuador on September 5, 2021 and then lost 2-0 at home on November 17, 2021. The Ecuadorian Football Federation dismissed the charges, assuring in a statement that Byron Castillo is "duly registered with the competent legal authority" and has "all the national documents in order".

“The world of football cannot turn a blind eye”

The full-back, who currently plays for Ecuadorian side Barcelona Guayaquil and has played eight games in these qualifiers, "is an Ecuadorian citizen for all legal purposes", she pointed out.

“The world of football cannot turn a blind eye to so much evidence,” wrote the Chilean federation in its press release.

“The practice of serious and intentional irregularities in the registration of players cannot be accepted, especially when it comes to a world competition.

Fair play must be on and off the pitch”.

According to the same source, "investigations carried out in Ecuador, including a report by the National Office of Civil Status, the highest authority in the matter in this country, revealed the existence of inconsistencies in the birth certificate presented by the player.

A commission of inquiry from the Ecuadorian Football Federation, aimed at clarifying the irregularities in the players' files, concluded that the player was Colombian”.

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