The TAS decision on the Byron Castillo case 2:03
(Reuters) -
Ecuador's national team will play the World Cup in Qatar, which begins in a few days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Tuesday that Byron Castillo, who according to Chile was not eligible to play the qualifiers, is considered Ecuadorian national.
However, Ecuador will receive a three-point deduction at the start of the next South American qualifier for the 2026 World Cup and will also have to pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs ($101,605.36) for "use of a document containing false information", the TAS said.
"Since the nationality of a player with a national association is determined by national laws (subject to time limits in the event of a change of sports nationality, which was not the case here), Byron Castillo was eligible to play (... .) in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifier," CAS said in a statement.
(Credit: MARCELO HERNANDEZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
CAS said the decision was based on the fact that Ecuadorian authorities recognized Castillo as an Ecuadorian citizen.
Ecuador was drawn in Group A alongside Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands, and will debut against the hosts when the World Cup kicks off on November 20.
In September, FIFA had dismissed Chile's appeal following its original claim that Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia, in 1995 and not in the Ecuadorian city of General Villamil Playas in 1998, as recorded in its official documents.
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However, the CAS said that the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) violated article 21 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code by using a document with false information.
"Although the player's Ecuadorian passport was indeed authentic, some information provided in it was false," the TAS added.
"In particular, the panel was comfortably satisfied that the player's date and place of birth were incorrect, as the player was actually born in Tumaco, Colombia, on June 25, 1995."
"The group of experts considered it necessary to hold the FEF responsible for an act of forgery (...) even though the FEF was not the author of the forged document but only the user."
Ecuador has always denied that the player was ineligible.
The FEF said that it used the correct eligibility criteria to select Castillo and that it was analyzing the next steps as it did not agree with the imposed sanction.
Castillo played in eight of Ecuador's qualifying matches, including two against Chile.
Peru finished fifth in the South American qualifiers, and lost the last place to Qatar in the international playoffs, while Chile finished seventh.
Regarding the point deduction imposed on Ecuador in the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup, the CAS said:
"The panel of experts determined that the three-point deduction should not be imposed in the current FIFA World Cup qualifying competition, but in the next edition, considering that the player was eligible to play in the qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. FIFA Qatar 2022," said the CAS.
Byron Castillo