The Court of Arbitration for Sport has approved Ecuador’s participation at the World Cup. However, CAS has punished Ecuador with a three-point penalty/reduction for the next World Cup qualifying play-offs.
Ecuador finished 4th in the South American World Cup qualifying process and achieved an automatic place ahead of Peru and Chile at the World Cup, where they are due to play in Group A with Senegal, the Netherlands and Qatar.
The Ecuadorian FA was being investigated for having given minutes to a certain Byron Castillo, a Colombian who used false papers to claim that he was Ecuadorian. The FA was even suspected of knowing the true nationality of the player and of having attempted to cover it up.
CAS has sanctioned the country, finding Ecuador guilty in the case of Byron Castillo, despite allowing them to participate in the World Cup.
This is because Castillo’s passport was found to be authentic, but CAS said it contained falsified information – i.e. his place and date of birth as he was born in Tumaco, Colombia.
CAS has also inflicted a three point penalty on Ecuador for the qualifiers for the next World Cup as well as fining them €100,000.
With this decision, Chile, who hoped to recover the place of Ecuador, lose all hope of participation in the World Cup.
GWFN
