The Byron Castillo case still makes Colombia and Chile excited about being able to reach Qatar in 2022. The recent ruling in the Spain case at the Rugby World Cup could be key to setting a precedent.
The controversy continues in a large part of South America due to the Byron Castillo case, who is accused of being ineligible to play for the Ecuadorian national team for supposedly having been born in Colombia. This makes both the “coffee” and Chilean teams excited about the possible disqualification of Ecuador, which would give them a chance to go to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A similar recent case could set a precedent that would also benefit them.
In Ecuador, they are confident that there will be no disqualification due to the Byron Castillo case, of whom there have already been some accusations in the past due to his alleged Colombian nationality. So far, there has been no formal presentation by any selected before Conmebol, FIFA, or the TAS. In this case, Colombia and Chile is the last light of hope to be in the next World Cup, despite not having achieved enough points throughout the Qualifiers.
However, a recent ruling in another sport could benefit them as a possible precedent and could hurt Ecuador. This Thursday the disqualification of the Spanish team from the next Rugby World Cup, which will be played in France in 2023, was known. This is due to the fact that the Spaniards incurred an improper line-up during two qualifying matches for the World Cup and World Rugby, the highest body of that sport, decided to penalize them.
The disqualification of Spain from the Rugby World Cup
Spain has been disqualified from the Rugby World Cup for the second consecutive time. For the appointment in Japan 2019, there was also an improper alignment, but of two players of French origin, Bellie and Fuster. On this occasion, for the European qualifiers to France 2023, the Spaniards used South African prop, Gavin Van der Berg, for two games against the Netherlands but made an improper line-up after a forged passport was found.
The Spanish Federation consulted World Rugby about the possibility of fielding Van der Berg, who did not have a passport but did have some uncertified photocopies as part of the documentation. The Federation approved these tests so that the player can play in the Alcobendas Rugby team. However, on social networks, some publications raised controversy by which it was verified that the player was in South Africa in the same period in which the documentation ensured that he was in Spain. As a result of this, the federations of Romania and Portugal denounced Spain for the improper alignment of the player.
Finally, World Rugby was issued this Thursday agreeing with the Romanian and Portuguese complaints, for which it punished Spain with 25 thousand pounds as a fine and five points less for each of the two games played by Van der Berg . Thus, the Spaniards were once again left without the Rugby World Cup, a tournament they have not played since 1999. Meanwhile, Romania, which had previously qualified for the World Cup playoffs, will occupy the position that Spain had, while Portugal will be the team that the latter in the playoff
The case of Spain and its disqualification from the Rugby World Cup could be a precedent that both Colombia and Chile could use to denounce Ecuador, as long as they manage to prove that Byron Castillo was actually born in Colombian territory.
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