Chile have lost their appeal to replace Ecuador at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but Friday’s verdict by FIFA leads the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FIFA dismissed Chile’s argument that Ecuador player Byron Castillo was actually Colombian and ineligible to play in World Cup qualifying games. Castillo played in eight of them for Ecuador.
FIFA said its appeal judges “deemed that on the basis of the documents presented, the player was to be considered as holding permanent Ecuadorian nationality in accordance” with soccer’s legal statutes.
Photo: Reuters
The verdict, which upholds a FIFA disciplinary ruling from June, keeps Ecuador on track to play Qatar in the opening game of the World Cup in Doha on Nov. 20.
“In silence, we continue to defend what we achieved on the pitch,” Ecuadorian soccer federation president Francisco Egas wrote on Twitter.
However, Chile’s legal challenge can continue, with the Chilean soccer federation expected to appeal to the arbitration court in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“It is a sad day for soccer and for fair play. The message is clear — tricks are allowed,” Chilean federation lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo said of the FIFA decision, adding: “There is an enormous amount of documents which prove that the player undoubtedly was born in Colombia.”
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