Whether you will be able to make a bet on Ecuador online at Soccerwagerz will depend on whether Chile’s request to FIFA will be granted. Not long ago, Chile asked FIFA to make some investigations on Ecuador as according to them, they may have fielded a player for World Cup who is not eligible.
Will Ecuador be replaced from the tournament?
The Request
The Football Federation of Chile (FFC) has asked Fifa to investigate Ecuador and its actions. According to FFC, one of the players from the Ecuador team is not eligible for World Cup qualifying. The player in question is Byron Castillo. FFC claims that the player is Colombian and that he lied about his age.
According to Chile, Castillo would have used a false nationality and birth certificate to be able to join the Ecuador team and pass as an Ecuadorian. So far, Fifa still has to make the investigations. If Chile’s claims prove to be true, then Ecuador will not be allowed to compete in the World Cup and they will be replaced by another team.
Ecuador managed to claim a place in the tournament before Peru after they were able to finish fourth in Conmebol. Chile thinks that all the eight games that Castillo participated in should be forfeited by Ecuador. Also, they think that the opponents should all be given three points for each.
Chile made a statement regarding the situation.
“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,” they said.
“The world of football cannot close its eyes to so many tests. The practice of serious and conscious irregularities in the registration of players cannot be accepted. There must be fair play on and off the pitch.”
They also claimed that Ecuador knows about this situation.
Ecuador’s Reaction
Of course, there was a reaction from Ecuador following the claims. The Ecuadorean FA said that these were no more than “unfounded rumors” to ruin the Ecuadorean Football Federation’s stability and refrain it from participating in the Qatar World Cup.
One statement said, “We must be emphatic [and state] that Byron Castillo is Ecuadorean for all legal effects.”
Castillo’s nationality had been already checked by the FEF and Ecuadorian authorities for several years before he joined the national side.
Will Ecuador make it to the World Cup, or are Chile’s claims true? It is quite difficult to know at the moment, but it will all be revealed after Fifa makes investigations. Until then, fans are hopeful that Ecuador will stay in the competition.