Chile and Peru take World Cup claim to CAS.

There may be less than two months until the start of the World Cup, but question marks remain over the participation of Ecuador in the tournament.

It follows the decision of both Chile and Peru to lodge a formal appeal with CAS (the Court of Arbitration for Sport), who are based in Switzerland, about the Ecuadoreans fielding a potentially ineligible player during the qualification process.

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The player in question is Byron Castillo, a right back, who played for Ecuador at under-17 and under-20 level, before question marks were first rose about his nationality, with allegations that he was actually born in the Colombian city of Tumaco.

Castillo was accused of adulterating his birth certificate, and there have also been allegations that not only did the first club he played for in Ecuador register him using falsified documents, but that he is also three years old than officials from the country have claimed.

In April this year, the issue appeared to be resolved when his Ecuadorean nationality was confirmed, by a local court, and FIFA dropped their investigation into the matter.

However, last month, several overseas news outlets published articles based on audio transcripts obtained by the Spanish newspaper Marca, which brought the issue to a head again. The secret recording is purported to be based on an interview between Castillo and the Ecuadorean Football Federation in which he admits to illegally entering Ecuador, and confirms both his place and date of birth in Colombia.

FIFA’s Appeal Commission has confirmed that it will now reopen its investigation into this matter.

Ecuador finished fifth in South American World Cup qualifying, but lost their intercontinental play-off to Australia. They are hoping that they could take Ecuador’s place if they are kicked out of the tournament.

Chile’s case is more tenuous, given that they only finished seventh in qualifying. However, by a mathematical quirk, were Ecuador to forfeit all the points that they gained from the eight matches in which Castillo played, they would finish fourth in the table and, therefore, eligible for direct qualification.

CAS have been asked to reach a decision by November 10th, just ten days prior to the start of the World Cup itself. CAS have confirmed that proceedings have begun.

This is the fourth time that Ecuador have qualified for the World Cup, and they have been drawn in Group A alongside the hosts Qatar, the Netherlands and the African champions Senegal.

To give the matter added urgency, their match with Qatar on November 20th at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor is the opening match of the tournament, and, therefore, the subject of worldwide scrutiny.

Now their participation in the tournament appears to be in huge doubt, especially if it subsequently comes to light that Ecuadorean officials were party to what amounts to documentation fraud.

If they are ruled out, they will surely appeal, which means that the whole legal saga may continue almost until the first ball is kicked.

Given the controversy surrounding FIFA and its decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar in the first place, the last thing they need is an embarrassing sideshow like this.