Ecuador insists on defending Byron Castillo and threatens La Roja a few days before the duel in Quito: “The best lesson will be to beat them”

In Ecuador, they are not convinced. Neither with a penalty involved, nor with the reasoning of the different courts, sporting and conventional, in the same direction. In the country of Guayas, they insist that Byron Castillo is Ecuadorian. The person who holds this position is the president of the football federation of this country, Francisco Egas.

Castillo was not only included in the list of participants for the World Cup in Qatar, as a precautionary measure to avoid further setbacks. A few days ago, the Swiss Federal Court ratified the provisions of the CAS, the final instance in sports matters. As a result, Ecuador suffered a three-point deduction heading into the 2026 world event and, in addition, a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs.

But nothing changes Egas’ mind. “For us, Byron Castillo is Ecuadorian », underlines the helmsman of Ecuafútbol. “We talk a lot about ignorance we are the kings of “I said” in the case of Byron Castillo “, he maintains, as part of an interview on La Rouge radio.

The leader in fact interprets the scope of the resolution of the Swiss Federal Court. “What it does is say whether the CAS acted well or not, and It does not relate to the merits of the case, but rather to the procedure. “, he maintains.

“But It’s not that the CAS has the absolute truth on this subject there are three Swiss judges sitting at a desk, there, in the distance, decide on a subject they are unfamiliar with and decide based on hypotheses, testimonies and so on,” he insists.

Egas’ underlying reason remains the one he has defended throughout. “When the FEF closed the investigation and when the civil status could not prove a defect in the documents, only in this case was he called up to the national team “, after justice and the Ecuadorian State, which is also sovereign, granted Byron Castillo Ecuadorian nationality,” it specifies.

“We continue to think the same thing, that the Federation acted in the right direction , that the processes and decisions were respected,” he adds. He even dared to question the competence of the CAS in this matter. “Because it’s not that there were experts investigation, analysis of documents, etc., and with this he concluded that the player was not born in Ecuadorr. There are three judges in Switzerland who thought there was something strange and made an arbitrary decision because they say the player is Ecuadorian and eligible, but it seems that the Federation must have known at some point that there was something strange, so They sanction the FEF for omission of these hypotheses », he explains.

“Two FIFA bodies agreed with the Federation then a CAS court decided that there was something and ruled against it, and then the Court said that CAS apparently made no procedural error in its decision. It is word for word and the decision of the Ecuadorian State has not been respected », he remarks.

“ Byron Castillo He is Ecuadorian and what there is is a decision of the CAS which is unfortunately the last instance in sport, which says that due to documentation problems it was not correct to call it and which leaves in the atmosphere that he still cannot be summoned”, says the manager, who leaves open the possibility of new legal proceedings to defend his truth. “Not necessarily to recover points, but because we continue to insist that things were done well and decently. on this issue, without deceiving anyone and with Castillo aligned at the time of closing the file, already as an Ecuadorian player and with his documents that confirm him as such,” he repeats.

In conclusion, this sends a strong message to Chile. “The best lesson that Ecuador can give to Chile, after everything they have told us, is to beat them on the pitch. I called people to encourage us, but without insults because this can lead to a new sanction for the national team,” concluded Egas.