The reaction of the Ecuadorian Federation after the leak of Byron Castillo's audio: "We only await the resolutions"

The publication of Daily Mail, an audio in which Byron Castillo claimed to be from Colombia, generated various repercussions. In Chile, whose Federation denounced the case of false documentation to FIFA, they are on alert because it would imply a possible qualification for the 2022 Qatar World Cup instead of the Ecuadorian national team.

Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) is taking the matter calmly and only thinking about the preparation for the World Cup. Regarding this, Carlos Manzur, vice president of the northern entity, made a statement regarding the leak of the recording of the current León de México side.

"There is nothing new to say. All this information has been circulating on social media for four years", expressed the member of the FEF board in a conversation with El Deportivo de La Tercera, a newspaper from Chile. "I am not worried about anything", added the leader.

Next, Manzur recalled that FIFA already dismissed the claim a few months ago, despite the amount of evidence presented by Chile. "When it all started, we clearly stated that we were calm about the FEF's actions. And after the disciplinary resolution, it became quite clear", he added.

In this sense, the representative of the sports institution pointed out that they are expectant of the ruling that the FIFA Appeals Committee will issue regarding the situation of Byron Castillo. "I understand the sensationalism of the media, but beyond that, we only wait for the resolutions", he said.

Will Byron Castillo attend the FIFA hearing?

The hearing to continue with Byron Castillo's case will take place on Thursday, September 15th. Initially, the lawyer of former Barcelona de Guayaquil, Andrés Holguín, stated that his client will not attend: "He is not legally obliged to appear, he is not a party. In a trial, if my witnesses decide not to go, I cannot force them. It's not like in the United States".

However, Manzur expressed the opposite: "The player has been summoned and must be available for the hearing. The FEF has transmitted the summon to him, his agent, and his lawyer on several occasions. And I repeat: those audios have been circulating on social media for several years. They do not exist in the FEF", he concluded.

What did Byron Castillo say in the leaked audio?

In the release from the English media, Byron Castillo acknowledged that he was born in 1995, but in the documents he possesses, it states that it was in 1998. Likewise, the defender stated that his name is "Bayron Javier Castillo Segura", although his documents show "Byron David Castillo Segura".

Castillo revealed that he traveled from Tumaco, Colombia, to San Lorenzo, Ecuador, in order to start his football career. Then, after settling in that country, the defender pointed out Marco Zambrano, owner of Norte América (Byron's former club), as the person responsible for providing him with altered documents.