Ecuador keeps World Cup place after ruling by sports court

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — Ecuador kept its place at the World Cup but will be deducted three points in qualifying for the 2026 tournament because of a false document being used to get a passport for a Colombia-born player, sport’s highest court ruled Tuesday. The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling comes 12 days before Ecuador plays host Qatar in the opening game at the World Cup. Chile and Peru had argued that Ecuador used an ineligible player in eight qualifying games and should be thrown out of the World Cup. But the CAS judges said Ecuador defender Byron Castillo was eligible by FIFA rules to play in both the qualifying campaign and at the World Cup in Qatar.