Chile demand Fifa investigate Ecuador for fielding 'Colombian' player Byron Castillo
- Published
Ecuador's Byron Castillo (left) holds off Chile's Eduardo Vargas in a 0-0 draw in Quito.
Chile have asked Fifa to investigate whether Ecuador fielded an ineligible player in World Cup qualifying.
A complaint filed by the Football Federation of Chile (FFC) with Fifa's disciplinary committee alleges that Ecuador's Byron Castillo is in fact Colombian, and has falsified his age.
The FFC claims Castillo used a false birth certificate and nationality to register as Ecuadorian.
If true, under Fifa rules Ecuador could have to forfeit their World Cup place.
Ecuador finished fourth in Conmebol qualifying and claimed an automatic place in Qatar ahead of Peru, who must play Australia or the United Arab Emirates in a play-off in June. Colombia finished sixth.
But Chile say that Ecuador should forfeit the eight games Castillo played in, and their opponents be awarded three points for each of them.
That would see Chile, who finished seventh, leapfrog Colombia and Peru into the fourth automatic spot.
"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," said a Chile statement.
The statement claimed that Ecuador's football federation knew the player was Colombian, adding: "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."
Castillo's nationality had reportedly been looked into by Ecuadorian authorities and the FEF, external over a number of years, before the player was eventually picked for the national side last year.
BBC Sport has contacted the FEF and Fifa for comment.
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