Byron Castillo has not been notified by FIFA and since there is no file, he cannot be sanctioned, says sports law lawyer and former Barcelona SC collaborator | Soccer | Sports

So far there is no official statement from FIFA on the complaint filed by the Chilean National Professional Football Association (ANFP) to disqualify the Ecuadorian team from the Qatar 2022 World Cup for the alleged alteration of the player Byron’s birth certificate Castillo, commented Andrés Holguín, a lawyer specialized in sports law and a former collaborator of Barcelona SC.

Holguín spoke about the publication of the web portal Antenna 2, from Colombia, who revealed: “FIFA would already have made a decision, although it has not made it official. According to what transpired, the international organization would not punish Ecuador, but it would punish the player for the confusion that exists about his nationality”.

“I talked to Byron these days. The first thing I asked him was if he had received any notification from FIFA and he told me no. I have spoken with people involved in this claim (from Chile in FIFA) and I have had confirmation that there is no open file against Castillo. What I am doing is responding to this ill-founded news to give security not only to Barcelona fans, but to the community that considers that it should be in the World Cup,” the lawyer told the radio. Sports area.

To clarify how a process should be developed in the highest entity of international football, Holguín explained: “FIFA is due to Swiss law and Switzerland is attached to human rights and due process regulations that oblige FIFA to notify the player with any proceedings. And since there is no file, he cannot be sanctioned”.

And to conclude, the jurist explained: “Suppose that this is proven (that Byron Castillo played for the National Team with supposedly false documents), that I see it as impossible for FIFA to contradict the Ecuadorian justice, it should be verified that the FEF was involved in this alleged crime. I do not see that this case has something that allows the FEF to be sanctioned. I assume that Chile requested an expedited resolution because the World Cup is close, so the resolution should be known soon. (D)