Ecuador may be expelled from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar following the discovery of new evidence that one of its players used forged birth certificates.
In May, shortly after Ecuador qualified for the tournament, the Chilean Football Federation (ANFP) filed a protest with FIFA alleging that defender Byron Castillo was actually born in Colombia.
Castillo, who made eight appearances during Ecuador’s World Cup qualification campaign, was deemed by FIFA to have been born in Ecuador.
The Spanish daily MARCA received a copy of Castillo’s Colombian birth certificate later that month.
Then, on September 12, MailOnline revealed an audio recording of an interview with Castillo conducted four years prior by the Investigative Commission of the Ecuador Football Federation (FEF), in which the defender confirmed he was born in Colombia.
Castillo disclosed in the interview that he was born in 1995, not 1998 as indicated on his Ecuadorian birth certificate, and that his real name is Bayron Javier Castillo Segura.
In addition, he described his departure from Colombia to seek a professional soccer career in Ecuador and named the Ecuadorian businessman who gave him a new identity.
Castillo explained, “I crossed the border because teams from Tumaco play in San Lorenzo.”
“At the trials in San Lorenzo, I did not make any of the teams, but my friend who was chosen did not show up, so I went in his place.”
According to MailOnline, the results of the interview with Castillo were communicated in a letter with the FEF’s President and Disciplinary Commission in December 2018.
Despite this, the FEF determined in 2019 that Castillo was an official citizen of Ecuador.
According to MailOnline, FIFA’s appeals commission is expected to rule on the subject on Thursday.
In CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, Chile finished eighth, three spots behind Ecuador. If FIFA decides to award Chile victory over Ecuador in their two matches against each other, Chile will surpass Ecuador in the qualification standings and secure a spot in Qatar.
If FIFA decides to forfeit all of Ecuador’s qualifying matches, the fifth-placed Peru would qualify for the World Cup instead.