Chaos is installed in South America and in CONMEBOL’s qualification for the 2022 World Cup. All because the Ecuadorian team, which guaranteed the direct qualification in 4th place (behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay), will have used a player of Colombian nationality.
The Colombian press reveals the birth certificate that shows that the player was born in Tumaco, in the town of Nariño, on the border between Ecuador and Colombia. Already in January 2019, Byron Castillo, a player for Barcelona Guayaquil, was in trouble with the justice due to the falsification of documents for adulteration of identity and the football federation of Ecuador will not have in its possession any documents that prove the naturalization of the player and consequent possibility of playing for the national team.
Due to the irregular use of Castillo, Ecuador could lose all the points it won in the eight games in which the athlete played, against Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. If that happens, Ecuador will drop to the bottom of the classification and it will be Peru to qualify directly and Colombia to go to the intercontinental play-off (against the United Arab Emirates or Australia).
The matter is being handled by lawyers from CONMEBOL, FIFA and TAS, and an official decision is expected soon.
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