The coach of the national team also denounced the organizers for advancing the opening match against Qatar.
Find your favorites in your Independent Premium section, my profile
Ecuador will participate in this year’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Tuesday that Byron Castillo, whom Chile said was ineligible to play in the qualifiers, thought he was an Ecuadorian citizen.
Ecuador, however, will benefit from a three-point deduction at the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifying crusade and will also have to pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs ($101,600) for “using a document containing false information,” CAS said.
CAS, the sport’s supreme court, added that the ruling was based on the fact that the Ecuadorian government had identified Castillo as an Ecuadorian citizen.
Ecuador drew in Group A alongside Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands in the final and the South American team will face the hosts in the opening match of the tournament when the World Cup begins on Nov. 20.
In September, FIFA rejected Chile’s appeal over its initial claim that Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia, in 1995 and not in the Ecuadorian town of General Villamil Playas in 1998, as stated in its official documents.
However, CAS said the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) violated Article 21 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code by using an email containing false information.
“While the player’s Ecuadorian passport is indeed genuine, some of the data provided is false,” the CAS added.
“In particular, the panel was comfortably convinced that the date and place of birth of the player were given that the player was born in Tumaco, Colombia, on June 25, 1995.
“The training considered it mandatory to find the FEF guilty of an act of forgery. . . even if the FEF was not that of the forged document but only the user. “
Ecuador has denied the player was ineligible. The FEF said it used the correct eligibility criteria to choose Castillo and was analyzing the next steps because it disagreed with the sanction imposed.
Castillo played 8 of Ecuador’s World Cup qualifiers, adding two against Chile, completing fourth place to secure a spot in the final.
Peru finished fifth in the South American standings, losing the automatic last place to Qatar, while Chile finished seventh.
Regarding the deduction for issues imposed on Ecuador by the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the CAS said:
“The panel decided that the deduction of 3 points merits not being imposed in the existing initial festival to the FIFA World Cup, but in the next edition, contemplating that the player was eligible to play in the initial festival at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 2022. “
For his part, Ecuadorian coach Gustavo Alfaro criticized the decision to change the date of the opening match of the World Cup between his team and host Qatar for giving him one less day to prepare for the tournament.
The World Cup was scheduled to start on Monday, Nov. 21, but organizers in August said it was better for the hosts to start the tournament, so the match between Ecuador and Qatar was brought forward to Sunday.
“I have one less day of preparation,” Alfaro said at a news convention Tuesday. “We were overwhelmed. They consulted us in case of disorders to advance the adjustment from 21 to 20. “
The Argentine coach questioned how much time he had to work with his national team compared to other World Cup groups, as well as Qatar, whose players were forced to spend five months in the national team because their league is suspended.
“Now I don’t need more, but I need the same rights as everyone else. The others have seven days and I have six. Why don’t I get a day before (to paint with the equipment)? Alfaro added.
Ecuador qualified after finishing fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
This will be the fourth World Cup appearance of the South American country, after Japan in 2002, Germany in 2006 (where it fulfilled its functionality and reached the knockout stages) and Brazil in 2014.
Additional information via Angelica Medina for Reuters
Want to bookmark your favorite articles and stories to read or refer to later?Start your Independent Premium Club today.