Not long ago, FIFA officially announced that due to the complaint of the Chilean national team, FIFA will investigate Ecuador for suspected illegal use of players in qatar's World Cup qualifiers. In this Year's South American World Preliminary Tournament, Ecuador performed well, finishing 4th in the World Cup in Qatar and eventually sharing group A with hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands.
In this Year's South American World Preliminary Tournament, Ecuador performed well according to IC photo
However, Chile, who only ranked 7th in the World Preliminary Tournament in South America and missed the World Cup, recently complained to FIFA that Ecuadorian international defender Castillo was suspected of falsifying his nationality. Castillo was investigated by Eduardo Carlezzo, a lawyer for the Chilean Football Association, who submitted evidence showing that Castillo was born in Colombia on 25 July 1995, but in the Ecuadorian registration form, Castillo was born in Ecuador on November 10, 1998. Calezzo told Marca: "We conclude that the Ecuadorian Castillo, whose full name is Byron Javier Castillo Segura, was born on 25 July 1995 in Tumaco, Colombia. On the Ecuadorian registration form, Byron David Castillo Segura, born on November 10, 1998, does not exist, he is a 'ghost'! According to Ecuadorian law, this is forgery, even a crime! ”
The Chilean Football Federation has issued a statement asking FIFA to conduct a thorough investigation into Ecuador's alleged use of false identities of players participating. In the World Preliminary Tournament in South America, Castillo played in both legs against Chile, resulting in Ecuador 0-0 at home and 2-0 away, unbeaten against Chile with 1 win and 1 draw.
Castillo
If FIFA determines castillo's identity is false, Ecuador will most likely be expelled from the World Cup. Under the rules, the top 4 in the South American zone go straight to the World Cup, while Peru, who is 5th, needs to play a play-off with the winner between the UAE and Australia to decide a World Cup entry spot. The reason why Chile came forward to complain this time is because they hope that FIFA will judge Castillo to lose 3-0 in all eight World Cup games for Ecuador. In this way, Chile will score 5 more points and the goal difference will soar. Castillo's other opponents are Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay, and the increase in the score of these teams does not affect the situation in the standings, so Chile will rise to the 4th place in the South American region and get a direct place in the World Cup.
However, it is not only Chile that is staring at Ecuador, Italy, which did not qualify for the World Cup, is also paying close attention to the matter. "Roma Sport" said that if FIFA confirms that Ecuador's violation, it is likely to replace the world's highest ranked team among the teams that missed the World Cup - Italy's current international ranking is 6th, which is the highest ranking team that failed to enter the Qatar World Cup.
On May 18, Beijing time, Cimenti, a former Italian Olympic Committee official and current president of the Italian Golf Association, confirmed in an interview with El Repubblica that Italy's entry into the World Cup is definitely not "nonsense". He said: "Believe me, Italy still has a chance to reach the World Cup, and it is more likely than everyone thinks! If Ecuador is expelled from the World Cup, the world ranking is the key, and now Italy is the highest ranking team among the teams that did not make the World Cup! The Repubblica believes that, in Cimento's position, his words are more credible.
Italy also have hopes to replace the World Cup according to IC photo
As for whether Castillo's identity is really fake, there are actually early signs of this. In 2016, Castillo represented the Ecuadorian U20 team in the warm-up match against the Chilean U20 team, but then the Ecuadorian Football Association removed Castillo from the Ecuadorian U20 national team because of the media exposure of Castillo's identity problems, and announced that the national team at all levels would no longer hire this player. However, in this World Preliminary Tournament, Ecuador suffered two consecutive defeats in June 2021, which led to great pressure on the team to qualify, and Ecuador was forced to call Castillo into the national team in the following matches to enhance the right side of the attack and defense, but did not expect to cause great trouble. Manzul, vice president of the Ecuadorian Football Association, was also suspected of "throwing the pot" a few days ago, saying: "If it is up to me to make a decision, I will not let him play for the national team!" He has not been called up due to concerns about his qualifications. ”
FIFA is likely to make a final decision on the matter in June, and whether Ecuador will be disqualified from the World Cup, whether Italy or Chile will take the place to enter the World Cup, will have the answer. But for many Italian fans, when they have accepted italy's lack of access to the World Cup at the end of the year, there is a sudden possibility of "resurrection". It is equivalent to the memorial service has been opened, but the people have been resurrected! Whether or not there will eventually be a "miracle", at least there is a little hope. However, if Italy enters the World Cup, I believe that the most disappointing will be Chilean football, and they are equivalent to making wedding dresses for others.
Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan
Edited by Ou Peng
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