Byron Castillo will appear next Thursday in the case that will define if Ecuador will go to the 2022 World Cup
León will travel to Mexico City to face Cruz Azul in an early match of Round 16 and the participation of Byron Castillo is in doubt, who is in the middle of an investigation by FIFA derived from an alleged falsification of documents to play for the Ecuadorian National Team.
In the last hours, the British newspaper Daily Mail released audios where supposedly the León footballer admits that he is Colombian and that he lowered his age by three years to play for the Ecuadorian team, a situation that, if proven, could lead to the expulsion of the South American team from the next Qatar 2022 World Cup to be held in November and December.
On Thursday, September 15, there will be a meeting between FIFA and the federations of Chile and Ecuador for them to present evidence and arguments from each of the parties and make a decision regarding the issue. It is expected that Byron Castillo will also appear at this meeting virtually to present his position on the matter and for the highest governing body of football to have all the elements to issue a verdict.
For now, the player continues to work with the rest of his teammates in León preparing for the match against Cruz Azul, although it will be until next Wednesday when it is defined whether he will make the trip to the capital of Mexico.
It is worth noting that Byron Castillo did not play the last match against Tigres supposedly to protect him from receiving a fifth yellow card that would result in a suspension for one game.
León is currently in ninth position in the Apertura 2022 with 18 points, and the match against Cruz Azul will define a large part of the destiny of both teams towards the repechage since teams like La Máquina, Xolos, Pumas, and FC Juárez are still in contention.