Byron Castillo is not in Ecuador's final World Cup squad ©Getty Images

Byron Castillo, the player at the centre of a long legal battle over Ecuador's place at the FIFA World Cup, has been omitted from the nation's squad over fears it could lead to "unjust sanctions".

Castillo played eight times for Ecuador in the qualification campaign, but his eligibility was later brought into question.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected a Football Federation of Chile (ANFP) plea to kick Ecuador out of the World Cup earlier this month, but did partially uphold the appeal and was satisfied that Castillo was born in Colombia - not Ecuador as the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) had claimed.

The FEF says it would run the "risk of once again suffering unjust sanctions" were it to select Castillo for the tournament in Qatar.

Ecuador are due to face the host nation in the curtain-raiser on Sunday (November 20).

The CAS ruled last month that Castillo was eligible to play for Ecuador in FIFA World Cup qualifying, so rejected the claim that the FEF had broken the 22nd article of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Byron Castillo eligible to play for Ecuador, but said his passport contained false information ©Getty Images
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Byron Castillo eligible to play for Ecuador, but said his passport contained false information ©Getty Images

Castillo can play for Ecuador as his nationality is determined by national law, and Ecuador recognises him as an Ecuadorian national, the CAS verdict reasoned.

Had Castillo been declared ineligible as the ANFP had hoped, and all of the games he played in reclassified as 3-0 wins for Ecuador's opposition, Chile would have jumped from seventh to fourth in the South American standings and qualified for the World Cup.

However, the CAS was satisfied that falsified information was used by the FEF when registering Castillo.

It judged that Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia on July 25 1995, not in General Villamil Playas three years later as the Ecuadorians say. 

As a result, Castillo's Ecuadorian passport contains what it deems false information.

This breached the 21st article of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, for which the CAS has hit the FEF with a three-point deduction in the next qualification campaign and a CHF100,000 (£89,000/$106,000/€102,000) fine.

The CAS stressed that eligibility rules were not broken, rather rules on falsification.

A full reasoned verdict is yet to be published, but the FEF has blamed the verdict for creating a situation where it cannot select Castillo for the World Cup.

Byron Castillo played eight times in Ecuador's qualification campaign ©Getty Images
Byron Castillo played eight times in Ecuador's qualification campaign ©Getty Images

Picking Castillo could place Ecuador's participation at this World Cup and chances of reaching the next one in jeopardy, it says.

The FEF continues to deny any wrongdoing.

Both the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and FIFA Appeal Committee had earlier dismissed Chilean complaints about Castillo's eligibility.

There has long been debate over where exactly the player - officially 24 years old - was born.

Suggestions he is in fact Colombian prevented Castillo from making a full international debut until September 2 last year.

Castillo had played for Ecuadorian national youth teams, but a senior international bow was put on ice until the end of an investigation into his origin.

An Ecuadorian court in April 2021 ruled Castillo was Ecuadorian, and born on November 10 1998 in Ecuador - something the CAS found to be false.