Ecuador are allowed to keep their place at the soccer World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18) but will be penalized with a three-point deduction in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and a fine. This can be seen in the judgment of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas in the case of the full-back Byron Castillo.
The judges came to the conclusion that, although Castillo was generally eligible to play in the qualifiers for the tournament in Qatar, the Ecuadorian federation FEF had violated Article 21 of the FIFA regulations by using a document containing false information. Accordingly, the information on Castillo’s date and place of birth should not correspond to the truth.
As a penalty, Ecuador will be deducted three points when qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and the national association must also pay a sum of 100,000 Swiss francs. However, Chile and Peru’s hopes of Ecuador’s place at the World Cup were not fulfilled. Ecuador will face hosts Qatar in the opening game on November 20th.
The South American football associations from Chile and Peru had gone to the Cas for a World Cup exclusion of Ecuador because they doubted Castillo’s eligibility to play. The world association FIFA had previously rejected the appeal from Chile and Peru on September 16 and confirmed a decision by its own disciplinary committee.