On Tuesday, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed a lawsuit brought by the football associations of Chile and Peru against Ecuador’s participation in the Football World Cup in Qatar. There are doubts in Chile and Peru over the qualification of Ecuadorian defender Byron Castillo in the qualifiers for the World Cup starting on November 20.

CAS has now declared Castillo eligible to play after months of debate. His nationality was not in doubt based on documents from the Ecuadorian authorities, but the court expressed its belief that the information on both the date and place of birth of the defender was not consistent with the facts. Therefore, the judges fined the Ecuadorian federation for “liability for counterfeiting” and deducted three points for South America’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

shattered hopes

Peru and Chile suffered losses as Castillo was used eight times in a World Cup qualifier. After the play-off against fifth-placed Australia in South America, the Peruvians were expected to field a World Cup spot if Ecuador was knocked out, as did Chile if Castillo lost their two defeats against Ecuador. would have been reversed. Both countries had already failed before the two competent bodies of the world federation, FIFA, with lawsuits against Ecuador’s World Cup participation.

The Ecuadorian team and fans can now look forward to the World Cup tournament. Following their opening match against Qatar, coach Gustavo Alfaro’s team will face the Netherlands and Senegal in their four other World Cup appearances since their debut in 2002.

ASZ/mm (SID, DPA)