Ecuador will maintain its position at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled on Tuesday that Byron Castillo, a player Chile said was not eligible, was in fact an Ecuadorian citizen.
However, the court imposed a sanction for an official document containing false information. Ecuador will begin its 2026 World Cup qualifying crusade with a three-point deduction. The South American country will also have to pay a fine of around $101,000.
“Since the nationality of a player of a national arrangement is determined through national legislation (subject to deadlines in case of replacement of sports nationality, which was not the case here), Byron Castillo was eligible to play. . . in the initial circular of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” CAS said in a statement via Reuters.
Chile had appealed in the past on the grounds that Castillo was actually born in Colombia in 1995, not Ecuador in 1998. Although this turned out to be true, the court ruled that the player’s Ecuadorian documents were official.
“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. “
Castillo played 8 World Cup qualifiers with his country. Normally deployed as a right-back, the defender has also participated in 4 recent friendlies. With Byron in the team, Ecuador finished fourth in the South American qualifier. It was the last guaranteed spot to advance to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Ecuador will be in Group A of the next World Cup. The South Americans face the Netherlands, Senegal and Qatar. Su first match against Qatar in the opening match of the tournament.
Photo credit: IMAGO/ANP