There are still a few days left until Ecuador’s visit to Chile in the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it is already safe to say that the temperature reaches its highest level in the evening. The reason, strictly speaking, is the unresolved score from the previous process, when La Roja wanted to strip the tricolor team of its classification by administrative means, questioning the inclusion of Byron Castillo.

In this process, although the reasons presented by the ANFP were considered, through the legal team led by Eduardo Carlezza, Tri finally arrived in Qatar.

Ecuador’s national team would have been in the qualification zone for the 2026 World Cup if CAS had not punished them for the Byron Castillo case

However, the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), headed by Pablo Milad, continued the fight through sports justice. And even though he couldn’t make it to the 2022 World Cup, he got the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to strip Ecuador of three 2026 qualification points and fine it 100,000 Swiss francs ($110,000).

And not only that, the court confirmed that the right back actually used false documents.

Byron Castillo case: what will the FEF do if the CAS ruling is ratified by the Swiss Federal Court? Francisco Egas spoke on that topic

The Ecuadorians did not like the resolution at all and they turned to the Federal Court of Switzerland, which finally buried their accusations today, the paper says. the third from Santiago.

Byron Castillo ‘admitted he was not born in Ecuador’, reveals TAS among reasons for FEF punishment

The entity ignored an appeal filed by the confederation led by Francisco Egas and eventually ratified a significant sporting sanction: the deduction of three points in the process towards the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Ecuador would receive a FIFA sanction for possibly disrespecting Gustavo Alfaro

Additionally, he fined the FEF 100,000 Swiss francs. The first element could be decisive for the dispute over the qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which will be organized by the USA, Mexico and Canada.

“There is no further refuge. Now, in the world of football, Byron is Colombian and his false registration as Ecuadorian has been recognized by the highest sports organization, CAS, and the highest Swiss judicial body, the Federal Court,” declares Carlezzo.

‘We won easily, the sanction could be stronger’, Antonio Valencia, former midfielder of Ecuador, on the CAS penalty in the case of Byron Castillo

“The Ecuadorian team has definitely been punished by losing three points in the table for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, due to the use of false documents,” emphasizes the Brazilian lawyer.

Fight

Chile was convinced that Castillo was born in Colombia and therefore his inclusion in the team then managed by Gustavo Alfaro was irregular.

In this certainty, he tasked Carlezzo with demonstrating the theory, just as he managed to do in the last qualifiers, when Nelson Cabrera’s participation for Bolivia was successfully questioned.

Chile prevailed in that controversy, although in practice it could not avoid the failure that occurred on the field: it did not even go to the World Cup in Russia.

In July, the Swiss Federal Court ruled that Castillo was ineligible for Ecuador, as CAS had ruled.

“By analyzing each of the evidence and documents attached to the file, the Court comes to the conclusion that the information entered in the player’s Ecuadorian passport is false, especially his name, date and place of birth. Therefore, the Court confirms and recognizes that the correct name of the player is Bayron Javier Castillo Segura, born in Tumac, Colombia, on June 25, 1995,” the resolution states.

Next, the opinion goes through, almost in chronological order, the background presented during the development of the case. On that occasion, he assessed the Chilean argument as fundamental and alluded to Castillo’s refusal to appear.

“CAS concluded that although the body of evidence presented by the Chilean Federation was more than sufficient to reach a conclusion on the case, all the facts were indirectly supported by the fact that Mr. Bayron did not appear at the hearing. FIFA and CAS, despite having been invited several times during the proceedings. In the court’s view, Mr. Bayron could not only have, as he should have, appeared on several occasions to testify on all that was reported and reported through the evidence presented by the appellants, to clarify the facts. In fact, despite being summoned in the proceedings, Byron refused to appear and/or comment on the alleged facts and presented documents. “The court also understood that the Ecuadorian federation made no effort to have the player present his testimony at the hearing, which could clarify the facts,” he said.

Castillo, finally, did not play in the World Cup. Ecuador did not call him again and will not call him again. In Tricolor they do not want to take new risks, even less now that the Swiss Federal Court has confirmed the deduction of three points against them for the current qualifications and a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs.

At least joy for the Chilean team and the ANFP after such turbulent weeks marked by conflict. (D)