(CNN Spanish) — The eyes of football are on FIFA, which announced this Wednesday an investigation of the Byron Castillo casethe Ecuadorian national team that Chile denounces for having used false documents to participate in the qualifiers for Qatar 2022. What can happen next? Here are the keys to the process.
What does Chile’s complaint say once morest Byron Castillo and the Ecuadorian Football Federation
On May 4, the Chilean Football Federation —which was left out of Qatar— filed a complaint once morest Byron Castillo and the Ecuadorian Football Federation before the FIFA Disciplinary Commission for the “use of a false birth certificate, false declaration of age and false nationality”, according to an official statement.
“There are innumerable proofs that the player was born in Colombia, in the city of Tumaco, on July 25, 1995, and not on November 10, 1998 in the Ecuadorian city of General Villamil Playas,” the Chileans affirmed, and they did references to investigations carried out in Ecuador that, according to them, show that there are “inconsistencies” in the birth certificate that the player presented.
Ecuador was quick to respond: the next day, the federation issued a harsh statement in which he assures that Castillo is “an Ecuadorian citizen for all legal purposes, both in the civil sphere and in sports, being duly registered with the competent national authority and having all the national documentation in order.”
The Ecuadorian federation also described Chile’s statements as “unfounded rumours” with “the clear objective of destabilizing the federation.” The organization insisted that the qualification for Qatar 2022 was obtained “legitimately on the field and representing all the principles and values that emanate from sport” as well as current regulations.
Ecuador’s Byron Castillo and Chile’s Jean Meneses during a qualifying match on November 16, 2021 in Santiago. (Credit: Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images)
What can happen if Byron Castillo was not eligible?
Byron Castillo played in eight of Ecuador’s 18 qualifying matches. In those games, according to Archyde.com, the team added 14 of the 26 points with which they secured their place in Qatar.
Chile, for its part, was in seventh place with 19 points, but according to what Eduardo Carlezzo, a lawyer for the Chilean Football Federation, told Archyde.com, if they give him the points from the two games once morest Ecuador in which Castillo played, he would go to the World Cup. instead.
What does the FIFA Disciplinary Code say?
The Disciplinary Code of the governing body of football raises possible sanctions in case of falsification of documents for both the player and the team involved.
Whoever uses a false document can be sanctioned with a fine and a suspension for at least six games, or another period that is at least one year, states the code, adding that “the federations or the clubs of the falsification”.
If a player participates in a match for which he might not be called, the team will be sanctioned with the “defeat due to withdrawal or resignation”, which in cases of 11-a-side football is that it is counted as a 3-0 result in favor of the opponent. , and a minimum fine of 6,000 Swiss francs (approximately the same figure in dollars).
In addition to these measures, FIFA may exclude the association from another competition if it deems it appropriate.
The precedent in the 2018 Russia qualifiers that benefited Chile
FIFA determined in 2016, when the teams were fighting for a place in the World Cup in Russia, that the defender Nelson Cabrera, a Bolivian national, had violated the call criteria for the matches played once morest the teams of Peru and Chile.
The FIFA Disciplinary Commission fined the Bolivian Football Federation US$12,135 and deducted points, with which Chile moved up the table.
The following year the Bolivian federation appealed the body’s decision, but this one held her steady.
Ecuador in Qatar 2022
According to scheduled so farthe team led by Gustavo Alfaro will debut once morest the host, Qatar, and will also have as rivals in Group A Senegal and the Netherlands.
