Ecuador’s participation in the Qatar World Cup could be in danger, according to reports Record. La Tri qualified after finishing fourth in the South American Qualifiers, just behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
The team led by Gustavo Alfaro had a good image during the qualifying rounds with a squad characterized by youth and experience, although it ended up lowering the level in recent times. The poor results caused Uruguay to take third place.
Now, his participation is up in the air due to a possible irregularity with Byron Castillo, who was born in Colombia and not in Ecuador. Already in September 2021, the Paraguayan Football Association launched that doubt about the Ecuadorian midfielder. However, the authorities carried out an investigation where they stated that the player was born in General Villamil (Guayas-Ecuador), on November 10, 1998. This Tuesday, lawyer Luigui Garcia presented a birth certificate for Castillo to a judge where it appears that his Date of birth is July 25, 1995 in Tumaco, southwestern Colombia, and three years later it was registered in Ecuador.
Gustavo Alfaro lined up at the wheel in eight qualifying matches: Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia. The Ecuadorian National Team clings to the fact that the term to present any complaint is no longer enabled because more than 48 hours have passed and, also, Castillo has already completed five years of residence in the country, although he is not Ecuadorian, he could apply for nationality.
The ball is in the court of FIFA who will have to make a decision on this case. Meanwhile, Peru and Chile wait for this decision because if Ecuador fell we would see the Peruvians classified and the Chileans playing a possible playoff.
