This Wednesday, FIFA responded to Chile's complaint, where they demanded sanctions against Ecuador for the alleged improper registration of Byron Castillo. The governing body announced that they will open a disciplinary investigation with the player and the Tricolor.
The Ecuadorian media reported on what happened; however, they also took the opportunity to emphasize that their national team would be a fair participant in the Qatar World Cup 2022.
In the newspaper El Universo, they wrote: "The Ecuadorian national team qualified directly for the World Cup, along with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, unlike others such as Colombia, Chile, and Peru (playoffs)."
Byron Castillo was removed from the Ecuadorian national team's youth divisions for an alleged document tampering 5 years ago. Photo: LR composition / AFP.
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Similarly, Metro was more emphatic and published: "The Tricolor national team, which qualified brilliantly for the Qatar World Cup 2022 as fourth in the American group, ahead of Peru - in playoffs - and Chile, eliminated."
In the same line, Primicias also expanded on the topic: "The Ecuadorian national team qualified directly for the World Cup, along with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, unlike Chile and Peru." Similar headlines were had by La Hora and El Diario.
What did Chile ask FIFA for?
According to Eduardo Carlezzo, the lawyer representing the Chilean national team before FIFA, they have three major demands: to expel Byron Castillo and for Ecuador not to play in two World Cups.
"We hope that Byron Castillo is expelled from professional football. That Chile is given the points from the matches against Ecuador, so they can occupy the fourth position in the qualifiers. And that the FEF is excluded from the 2026 World Cup," revealed Carlezzo.