The Ecuadorian federation’s alarm bells are ringing because their team’s on-field achievements during the always complicated Conmebol Qualifiers could be lost off the field. There is one player who could cause the elimination of Ecuador from Qatar 2022 and the inclusion of Chile instead.
After 18 battles, La Tri won Conmebol’s last direct ticket to the upcoming FIFA World Cup by finishing in fourth place with 26 points, behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and ahead of Peru, Colombia and Chile. The latter two have no hope of playing in the World Cup.
Before this scandal broke, Ecuador was already thinking about Qatar 2022, which would be only its fourth World Cup after having played in Korea-Japan 2002, Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014. The Final Draw placed it in group A of the tournament to be held between November 21 and December 18, along with Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands.
The scandal that could keep Ecuador out of Qatar 2022
Chile cannot get over the fact that it has not been able to qualify on the field for its tenth World Cup, which is why at the slightest opportunity it decided to act in order to earn that right, even if it is off the field. Radio Caracol journalist Sebastian Bejarano reported that one of the players that Ecuador fielded during 8 matches of the Conmebol Qualifiers was born in Colombia, so his participation with the Ecuadorian team would be illegal.
The player in question would have lined up in Ecuador’s two matches against Chile, and Paraguay, and once against Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina. In these games, La Tri scored 4 wins and two ties, that is, 14 points, which, if the allegations are confirmed, could be subtracted to leave it at the bottom of the Conmebol Qualifiers and put Chile in fourth place (because the 5 points it lost to Ecuador would be added).
Who is the player who could leave Ecuador out of the World Cup?
He is 23-year-old defender and midfielder Byron Castillo, who was said to have been born in Guayas, Ecuador. The current Barcelona de Guayaquil player had already had a conflict over his birth documents in 2021, but justice ruled in his favor. According to la Tercera, it is said that the Chilean Soccer Federation will be advised by lawyers specializing in international sports law to determine the steps to be taken, which could result in investigations by Conmebol, FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Byron Castillo, Ecuador vs Argentina. (Franklin Jacome/Getty Images)
