Ecuador could still be kicked out of World Cup!

FIFA are under pressure to make another late change to the 2022 World Cup by expelling Ecuador due to mounting evidence that they qualified for the tournament with an ineligible player using a fake passport. Sportsmail has obtained documents showing that Byron Castillo, a right back who made eight appearances during qualifying, is a Colombian national who has never held Ecuadorian citizenship. Ecuador are due to kick off the World Cup against hosts Qatar on november 20, a fixture brought forward by 24 hours this week in another controversial decision by FIFA, who now have more questions to answer about the tournament’s opening game. The extraordinary case, which features allegations of illegal immigration and falsified birth certificates, could also have implications for England’s World Cup campaign as they could meet Ecuador in the last 16. gareth Southgate’s side will face the runners-up from group a in the second round if they win their group, with Ecuador or Senegal more likely to finish second than Qatar or the netherlands.

The questions surrounding Castillo’s nationality were brought to FIFA’s attention by the Football Federation of Chile, who finished below Ecuador in South america’s qualifying competition but now claim the results in matches between the two countries were not valid given an ineligible player’s involvement. FIFA dismissed Chile’s initial complaint and the matter is now in the hands of FIFA’s appeals commission who will make a ruling later this month. Sportsmail has obtained some of the documents on which Chile’s appeal is based, which appear to demonstrate that Castillo was born in Tumaco in Colombia. There are two birth certificates registering slightly different names connected to the player — one from Colombia and another from Ecuador — as well as conflicting birth dates.

Both certificates declare the name of the same father and mother, both of whom are Colombian. amid this confusion, Chilean football chiefs have obtained a baptism certificate from Colombia but one does not exist in Ecuador. The birth certificate of Colombia has been validated by the birth registry and ministry for foreign relations, but the birth certificate of Ecuador was not recognised by the country’s civil register. In addition, the signature of the father, Harrinson Jose Castillo, in the Ecuadorian document does not correspond to the signature in the Colombian document. The doubts over Castillo’s identity emerged in 2015 when his proposed transfer between two Ecuadorian clubs norte america and Emelec collapsed due to ‘irregularities’ in his documentation. In 2018, norte america were suspended by the Ecuador Football Federation after being found guilty of sponsoring and benefiting from players’ falsified documents. Later that year a report declared that Castillo’s Ecuadorian birth certificate did not exist and that one had been falsified. The Chilean federation are contending that Castillo was an illegal immigrant in Ecuador who has never been eligible to represent them despite winning 15 caps at youth level and making 10 senior appearances. Despite Chile complaining to FIFA last april, there is concern that the world governing body are seeking to delay the final judgment on the case to avoid disrupting the World Cup, as well as denying Chile time to take the matter to the Court of arbitration for Sport if they lose the appeal.