FIFA World Cup 2022: Ecuador cleared to play in Qatar after CAS rejects Chile’s appeal against Byron Castillo

The Court of Arbitration for Sports rejected Chile’s appeal over ineligibility of Ecuador’s Byron Castillo, paving way for Ecuador to go ahead with their participation in the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Notably, Ecuadorian defender Byron Castillo was under trial for ineligibility to play in the FIFA World Cup after investigation in the matter claimed that the defender entered the country from Colombia and that his parents were both Colombian.

However, Ecuador will face three-point deduction at the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup and will have to pay a fine of 1000,000 Swiss Francs ($101,605.36) for the “use of a document containing false information”, CAS said. 

“Since the nationality of a player with an association is determined by national laws (subject to time limits in case of a change of sporting nationality, which was not the case here), Byron Castillo was eligible to play in the preliminary round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” CAS said in a statement.

CAS further claimed that decision was based on the fact that the Ecuadorean authorities acknowledged Castillo as an Ecuadorian national. Earlier, in September, FIFA had dismissed Chile’s appeal following their original complaint that Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia in 1995, instead of Ecuadorian city of General Villami Playas in 1998, as mentioned in the official documents. 

However, CAS has alleged violation of Article 21 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code for the use of a document containing false information, by Ecuadorean Football Federation (FEF).

“While the player’s Ecuadorean passport was indeed authentic, some information provided therein was false. In particular, the panel was comfortably satisfied that the player’s date and place of birth were incorrect since the player was actually born in Tumaco, Colombia, on 25 June 1995,” CAS said. 

The Court of Arbitration also confirmed that the panel determined that three-point deduction should not be imposed in the present preliminary competition to the FIFA World Cup, but rather in the next edition, considering that the player was eligible to play in the preliminary competition to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. 

Ecuador have been drawn in Group A alongside Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands at the finals and the South American team will play the hosts in the opening match of the tournament when the World Cup kicks off on November 20.