Byron Castillo
FullnameByron David Castillo Segura
Birth date25 June 1995 (age 31) (disputed)
Birth placeTumaco, Colombia (disputed)
Height1.70m
CurrentclubBarcelona SC
(on loan from León)
Clubnumber26
PositionRight-back
Youthyears 12012–2014
Youthclubs 1Norte América
Years 12014–2016
Clubs 1Norte América
Caps 10
Goals 10
Years 22014–2015
Clubs 2→ Deportivo Azogues (loan)
Caps 28
Goals 21
Years 32015
Clubs 3→ Emelec (loan)
Caps 30
Goals 30
Years 42016
Clubs 4→ Aucas (loan)
Caps 422
Goals 41
Years 52017–2022
Clubs 5Barcelona SC
Caps 5106
Goals 58
Years 62022–
Clubs 6León
Caps 623
Goals 61
Years 72023
Clubs 7→ Pachuca (loan)
Caps 710
Goals 70
Years 82024
Clubs 8→ Peñarol (loan)
Caps 810
Goals 80
Years 92024–
Clubs 9→ Barcelona SC (loan)
Caps 936
Goals 90
Nationalyears 12015
Nationalteam 1Ecuador U17
Nationalcaps 114
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 22016
Nationalteam 2Ecuador U20
Nationalcaps 21
Nationalgoals 20
Nationalyears 32021–2022
Nationalteam 3Ecuador
Nationalcaps 310
Nationalgoals 30
Club-update20 August 2025
Nationalteam-update22:11, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Byron David Castillo Segura (born 25 June 1995) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ecuadorian Serie A club Barcelona SC and the Ecuador national team.

Club career

Early career

Castillo began his career with Norte América, but made his debut as a senior while on loan at Deportivo Azogues. In May 2015, he was loaned to Emelec,[1] but was released in July after having problems with his documentation.[2]

In January 2016, Castillo moved to Aucas. He made his Serie A debut with the side on 7 February, starting in a 1–2 away loss against Fuerza Amarilla, and scored his first goal in the category late in the month, in a 1–1 home draw against Mushuc Runa. On 31 December, Aucas announced that he had extended his contract with the club for a further four seasons.[3]

Barcelona SC

On 5 January 2017, Castillo was presented at Barcelona SC.[4] After featuring in just one match during his first season, he started to feature more regularly from the 2018 season onwards, and became a regular starter in 2020.

On 10 July 2021, Castillo signed a new contract with the club until 2025.[5]

León

On 10 June 2022, Castillo signed for Liga MX side León.[6]

International career

Youth

Castillo was a part of the Ecuador under-17 team that featured in both the 2015 South American U-17 Championship and the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, being an undisputed starter for the side in both tournaments.[7] In November 2016, he featured for the under-20s in a friendly against Chile.

Senior

On 29 August 2021, Castillo was called up to the Ecuador national team by manager Gustavo Alfaro for three 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay, Chile and Uruguay.[8] He made his full international debut on 2 September, starting in the 2–0 win over the former at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado in Quito.[9]

Nationality issues

In 2017, Castillo was separated from the Ecuador under-20 squad after allegations that he was born in Tumaco, a Colombian city near the Ecuadorian border.[10] He was accused of adulterating his birth documentation in January 2019[11] and this issue kept him out of any Ecuador national team until 2021.

In February 2021, an investigation started to determine if Castillo was Ecuadorian or Colombian.[12] Finally, on 24 April of that year, his Ecuadorian nationality was confirmed.[13] In May 2022, the Chilean Football Federation submitted a complaint to FIFA about Castillo's nationality, alleging that he was born in Tumaco, Colombia in July 1995, and not in Playas, Ecuador on 10 November 1998 as previously thought.[14][15] FIFA closed the investigation after nearly one month on 10 June, confirming Ecuador's spot in the World Cup, saying he was an Ecuadorian citizen and never represented Colombia in a competitive match.[16]

Spanish sporting newspaper Marca published audio that was apparently of Castillo admitting his illegitimate entry into Ecuador, as well as his birthplace in Colombia, and his correct year of birth.[17] The recording was said to be from an interview between Castillo and the Ecuadorian football association, but was kept quiet by the federation. The paper also published both Colombian and Ecuadorian birth certificates for Castillo, illustrating discrepancies in his name, birthplace, and date of birth.[18][19][20] FIFA's Appeals Commission reopened the investigation[21][22] and in early October ruled in favor of Castillo again.[23][24][25]

On 8 November 2022, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Castillo was indeed born in Tumaco on 25 June 1995, but since the nationality of a player is defined by national law, Ecuador recognizes him as an Ecuadorian national. Furthermore, the Court upheld the FIFA's policy regarding international eligibility as Castillo never played for the Colombia national team in a competitive match, he was deemed eligible to play for the Ecuador national team. The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) were however, fined CHF 100,000 and handed a 3-point deduction in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for CONMEBOL due to the use of a document which contained false information.[26][27] On 3 November 2023, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court denied the FEF's appeal of the TAS decision.[28]

Career statistics

Club

[29]

ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Deportivo Azogues2014Ecuadorian Serie B30———30
201551———51
Total81———81
Aucas2016Ecuadorian Serie A221—2[a]0—241
Barcelona2017Ecuadorian Serie A10———10
2018172—1[a]0—182
2019181—2[b]0—201
2020312—10[b]1—413
2021273—12[b]02[c]0413
2022120—8[d]0—200
Total1068—331201419
León2022–23Liga MX00———00
Career total13610003512017311

International

Ecuador
YearAppsGoals
202160
202270
Total130

Honours

Barcelona SC

León

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Byron Castillo se incorpora a filas eléctricas" [Byron Castillo joins the ranks of the electrics] (in Spanish). CS Emelec. 21 May 2015. Archived 24 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. ^ "COMUNICADO: Emelec rescindió el contrato de un 'juvenil'" [ANNOUNCEMENT: Emelec rescinded the contract of a 'youngster'] (in Spanish). Studio Fútbol. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ "@Aucas45 comunica a su hinchada que el jugador Byron Castillo ha extendido su contrato por 4 temporadas mas con el #IdoloDeQuito." [@Aucas45 announce to their supporters that the player Byron Castillo has extended his contract for 4 seasons more with the #IdoloDeQuito.] (in Spanish). SD Aucas. Twitter. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Barcelona SC presentó a cinco refuerzos más para la campaña 2017" [Barcelona SC presented five more additions for the 2017 season] (in Spanish). El Universo. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Barcelona: Byron Castillo renueva con el Ídolo, pero lo quieren del exterior" [Barcelona: Byron Castillo renews with the Idol, but is wanted from abroad] (in Spanish). Expreso. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Ecuatoriano Byron Castillo ficha con el León tras resolución favorable de FIFA" [Ecuadorian Byron Castillo signs with León after the favourable resolution of FIFA] (in Spanish). 24 Horas. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Byron Castillo, dueño indiscutido de la banda derecha de la Tricolor sub-17" [Byron Castillo, undiscussed owner of the right flank of the Tricolor under-17s] (in Spanish). El Telégrafo. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Byron Castillo, entre los convocados de Ecuador para la triple fecha" [Byron Castillo, amongst the called up of Ecuador for the three-fixture run] (in Spanish). Primicias. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Byron Castillo se ganó un puesto en la selección ecuatoriana" [Byron Castillo has won a place in the Ecuador national team] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. ^ "La FEF confirmó que el lateral Byron Castillo es colombiano" [FEF confirmed that the full-back Byron Castillo is Colombian] (in Spanish). Bendito Fútbol. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Byron Castillo, acusado de alterar sus documentos" [Byron Castillo, accused of adulterating his documentation] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  12. ^ "La nacionalidad de Byron Castillo en investigación" [The nationality of Byron Castillo under investigation] (in Spanish). Expreso. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Se ratificó la nacionalidad ecuatoriana de Byron Castillo" [The Ecuadorian nationality of Byron Castillo was confirmed] (in Spanish). El Telégrafo. 24 April 2021. Archived 24 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Comunicado de la Federación de Fútbol de Chile". ANFP. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Chile accuse Ecuador of fielding ineligible player". BBC Sport. 5 May 2022.
  16. ^ Panja, Tariq (2022-06-10). "Chile Loses Bid to Replace Ecuador at World Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  17. ^ "The shocking audio in which Bryon Castillo reveals his true identity". 13 September 2022.
  18. ^ "The court case involving Ecuador's Byron Castillo gets more complicated". MARCA. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  19. ^ Ford, Will (12 September 2022). "Ecuador face World Cup axe: Byron Castillo's fake ID and the four-year cover-up". Football365. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  20. ^ Lane, Barnaby (13 September 2022). "Ecuador faces being kicked out of the FIFA World Cup after evidence that player used fake birth documents emerges". Insider. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  21. ^ Berkeley, Geoff (6 September 2022). "FIFA sets date for Castillo hearing as Chile challenge Ecuador's World Cup place". Inside The Games. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  22. ^ "Caso Byron Castillo: Resolución de la FIFA sobre el Mundial | Todas las noticias". 16 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Chile loses FIFA appeal in World Cup case with Ecuador". AP NEWS. 2022-09-16. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  24. ^ "FIFA keeps Ecuador in the World Cup field, dismissing claim from rivals". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  25. ^ Dunbar, Graham (2022-09-28). "FIFA judges detail why they rejected Chile World Cup appeal". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  26. ^ "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirms the eligibility of the player Byron Castillo (Ecuador) but imposes sanctions against the Ecuadorian Football Federation for violation of the FIFA regulations". Court of Arbitration for Sport. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  27. ^ Mundi, Jus. "FPF v. FEF and FIFA / FFCH v. FEF and others, Decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal 4A_258/2023, 19 June 2023". jusmundi.com. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  28. ^ "4A_256/2023 06.11.2023". www.bger.ch. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  29. ^
  30. ^ "Palmeiras domina Seleção da Libertadores 2021". www.uol.com.br. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Supercopa Ecuador
  4. ^ Five appearances in Copa Libertadores, three appearances in Copa Sudamericana