FIFA is set to conclude its investigation into claims of player ineligibility aimed at the Ecuadorian football federation (FEF), with the nation’s 2022 World Cup status potentially hanging in the balance.
According to a claim brought forward by the Chilean federation, Ecuador deployed an ineligible player, Byron Castillo, throughout World Cup qualifying and the contention is that La Tri should be removed from the World Cup after qualifying for Qatar 2022 as the fourth-placed team in South America.
“FIFA has decided to open disciplinary proceedings in relation to the potential ineligibility of Byron David Castillo Segura,” FIFA said in a statement on May 11. “In this context, the FEF…[has] been invited to submit their positions to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.”
Chile, which finished in seventh place in South American qualifying, argues that it should earn the World Cup spot over Ecuador given it played two matches against Ecuador in which Castillo played. Another scenario could see Colombia’s chances resuscitated, if FIFA ultimately rules against Ecuador.
Ecuador was drawn into Group A at the 2022 World Cup alongside hosts Qatar, the Netherlands, and Senegal.
MORE: Full breakdown of Group A at the 2022 World Cup
Why is Ecuador being investigated by FIFA?
FIFA’s investigation has to do with the eligibility of Ecuador international fullback Byron Castillo.
The global football governing body announced that it was opening an investigation into Ecuador’s deployment of Castillo throughout CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. The Chilean federation claims to have proof that Castillo, who plays for Ecuadorian club Barcelona of Guayaquil, was born in Tumaco, Colombia and that the 23-year-old has been using a falsified birth certificate and passport.
On June 8, the lawyer on the case for the Chilean federation, Eduardo Carlezzo, stated that they have submitted all their proof to FIFA and that Ecuador will be disqualified from the World Cup.
“[Castillo’s] parents were married in Tumaco, Byron was born in Tumaco and was baptized in Tumaco,” Carlezzo said, as quoted by TV Azteca in Mexico. “The idea of this [investigation] is to present in a fairly clear and transparent way all the arguments we have, the documents we have. Whoever speaks the truth cannot be afraid [of the truth].”
Castillo played in eight World Cup qualifying matches for Ecuador, in which the country picked up 15 of its 26 points. Of those eight games, Castillo started seven and played 614 minutes, assisting one goal.
Could Ecuador be banned from the World Cup?
If FIFA ascertains Chile’s claims and Castillo was never actually eligible to play for Ecuador, then disqualification is possible.
One potential result would be to wipe all points gained by Ecuador in the eight matches in which Castillo played, awarding its opponents forfeit victories in all eight games. That would leave Ecuador with just 11 points in South American (CONMEBOL) qualification, meaning the country would drop to ninth in the 10-team table, leaving them outside the qualification positions. It’s a scenario that would see Chile move up into a qualification spot.
It’s also possible that FIFA decides to expel Ecuador from qualifying entirely and wipe out all 18 matches, deciding that the country forfeited its position in qualification by utilizing an ineligible player. That course of action could see Colombia move up ahead of Chile.
According to Argentine journalist Javier Lanza, FIFA will announce its decision on June 10. The Sporting News has reached out to FIFA for comment, but did not receive a reply as of publication of this post.
Who could replace Ecuador at the World Cup?
While Chile is the nation that reported Ecuador to FIFA in the hopes of taking its 2022 World Cup place, it’s not guaranteed that Chile would be the team to replace Ecuador in Qatar if FIFA decides to sanction Ecuador and ban it from the competition.
How Chile could replace Ecuador
If Ecuador’s eight matches in which Castillo played were changed to 3-0 forfeits, Chile would rise from seventh into fourth in the standings, an automatic qualifying position. Castillo played in both matches and Chile came away with just one point out of a possible six.
Meanwhile, Castillo did not play in either game against Colombia or Peru. Therefore, if Chile gained an extra five points in the standings, it would be the one to finish in fourth place ahead of Peru on the goal differential tiebreaker (Chile’s new goal differential of +1 would best Peru’s goal differential of -3.) In that instance, Peru would maintain its fifth place position which has it playing the intercontinental qualification playoff (Peru is currently set to face Australia on June 13).
How Colombia or Peru could replace Ecuador
However, if FIFA decides to eliminate Ecuador from qualification entirely without reworking the results and just taking the next team in the table, Chile would not be the first team elevated into a qualification spot.
In this alternate scenario, Peru would be lifted to an automatic qualifying position (fourth place), while Colombia, the team that finished just outside of the qualifying zone in sixth place, would see its World Cup hopes revived as the fifth-place playoff team.
The latter course of action would bring with it serious logistical issues. Peru is currently in Qatar preparing to play in the intercontinental qualifying playoff match against Australia on June 13. If Peru was bumped to fourth and Colombia was elevated to fifth, it would mean the Colombian side would need to contest the intercontinental playoff, and the game would almost surely need to be rearranged given the change of participants on such short notice.
Has a team ever been disqualified from the World Cup before?
There is precedence for a team to be banned World Cup contention on the grounds of fielding an ineligible player, or other sanctionable offenses.
Chile was the target of a 1994 World Cup ban after goalkeeper Roberto Rojas feigned injury during 1990 World Cup qualifying. It was discovered that Rojas used a hidden razor blade to cut himself, making it look like he was injured by a flare that never hit him. Chilean players refused to retake the field after the incident citing security concerns, but video showed the sequence of events to be a hoax. The 2-0 forfeit loss was enough to knock out Chile from the 1990 World Cup and see it subsequently punished with a ban from the 1994 competition.
Mexico was banned from the 1990 World Cup after the “Cachirules” scandal, in which it fielded four overage players at the CONCACAF Under-20 championships.
In 2011, Syria was eliminated from Asia World Cup qualification for the 2014 tournament after fielding player George Mourad in both legs of a second-round qualifier against Tajikistan. Mourad had represented Sweden at the youth level and did not formally complete his FIFA approval for a national team switch, thus rendering him ineligible to participate for any other nation.
A wild string of ineligible player suspensions resulted in mass confusion in 2013.
African minnows Cape Verde had shockingly reached the final round of Africa World Cup qualifying for the 2014 tournament, hoping to become the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup. The nation was one step away from completing the mission after topping Tunisia in the final group stage match, finishing atop the four-team group and earning a pass to the final round. However, it was determined that Cape Verde fielded an ineligible player in Fernando Varela, who should have sat out the match due to suspension after earning a red card in a previous match.
Cape Verde contended that because the match in which Varela was sent off was itself changed to a forfeit due to Equatorial Guinea’s fielding of an ineligible player, Varela’s red card and subsequent suspension were wiped. But FIFA disagreed and changed the result to a 3-0 Tunisia win, seeing them top the group instead. Tunisia would fail to make the World Cup, falling at the final hurdle.
Most recently, Russia was disqualified from all UEFA and FIFA competitions this past February after the country’s invasion of Ukraine, meaning the European nation was eliminated from UEFA World Cup qualifying and did not reach the 2022 World Cup.
However, none of the aforementioned countries had secured a place in the World Cup prior to disqualification. In all cases, the country’s participation was stricken before qualification was secure. If Ecuador is disqualified, it would represent an unprecedented decision by FIFA.
