The Ecuadorian player Byron Castillo, a great protagonist of his team in recent months due to the fact that both Chile and Peru demanded his irregular alignment considering that he was born in Colombia, left the field of play in the 35th minute of the match that faces Ecuador today against Iraq at the Cívitas Metropolitano in Madrid.
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Right back Byron Castillo received a hard low tackle with both legs from Iraqi Alai Hussain as he rushed off the baseline. After being treated for several minutes by the doctors when his left foot got stuck in the action, he had to go to the locker room. His place was taken by Robert Arboleda.
Ambassador’s words
A Byron Castillo that, as the Ecuadorian ambassador in Qatar said hours before, will not be on the final list of coach Gustavo Alfaro for the World Cup and that he will announce on Monday, one day before traveling to Doha.
“Unfortunately, Byron Castillo is not coming. It would be the finishing touch for Byron to come and score a goal, but unfortunately, the news we have is that he is not coming,” said Pascual Del Cioppo in an interview on the television program ‘Hechos de Impacto’.
According to the diplomat, “it is a decision that the Federation has taken, most likely to avoid future problems” with the Mexican Lion player, the protagonist of a battle in the offices between Ecuador, Chile and Peru over the authenticity of the documents with which he was registered as Ecuadorian when, in reality, they claimed, he was born in Colombia.
The TAS confirmed to Ecuador
Finally, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed last Tuesday the presence of Ecuador in the World Cup while sanctioning the ‘tri’ with the loss of three points for the next South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Oblivious to this whole situation, Alfaro placed him as a starter, but he could only play the first 35 minutes of the game. The extent of the injury remains to be seen and whether, as the ambassador revealed, he is definitely out of the World Cup squad.