CHILE FURY OVER ECUADOR LET-OFF

CHILEAN football authorities said yesterday was a ‘dark day for football’ after FIFA dismissed a claim of ineligibility which would have seen Ecuador thrown out of the World Cup.

Chile lodged a complaint with the global governing body over Ecuador player Byron Castillo, who they claimed was not born in Ecuador and should not therefore have represented the country in World Cup qualifying.

Chile alleged Castillo was born in Colombia — something the player himself had seemed to confirm in a recorded interview — and had cost them a spot in Qatar.

A FIFA statement yesterday read: ‘Among other considerations, (the committee) deemed that on the basis of the documents presented, the player was to be considered as holding permanent Ecuadorian nationality.’

Jorge Yunge, general secretary of the Chilean FA, responded: ‘This is a dark day for football and for the credibility of the system.

‘The footballing world heard a player who helped Ecuador qualify for the World Cup admit he was born in Colombia and that he gained an Ecuadorian passport using false information.’

Eduardo Carlezzo, the lawyer for the Chilean FA, added: ‘I have never seen in my entire life as a lawyer an injustice like this one.

‘There are a huge number of documents that, alone, prove without any reasonable doubt the player was born in Colombia.

‘It clearly seems that anything we could be able to file would not be enough to validate the claim.

‘It’s a sad day for football and for fair play. The message is clear: cheating is allowed. We will appeal (to the Court of Arbitration for Sport).’