Ecuador’s national soccer team began South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup with a minus three point penalty handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), following a lawsuit filed by the Chilean federation over alleged irregularities in Byron’s citizenship. Castillo.

With Trio’s 2-1 victory the previous week in Quito against Uruguay, the national team resolved that point deduction and currently appear in the standings without units.

However, a report in the Colombian press indicated that the competition on the way to the 2026 Cup will cause an “upheaval” due to the insubordination of the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) with Argentina’s Gustavo Alfaro, the former coach of the national team.

“In the last few hours, it has become known that the qualifying rounds that started this September may have a ‘twist’ due to another legal case involving the Ecuadorian team,” the newspaper article said. Time from Colombia.

“According to the information revealed by the South American press, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) violated the agreement it had with the Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro, who left the bench after the World Cup in Qatar,” he added.

The newspaper mentions the debt that Ecuafútbol owes to Alfaro and in case of alleged non-compliance, FIFA would take an extreme decision.

“The coach who took ‘Tri’ to the World Cup is claiming some outstanding payments owed by the FEF, money which has been split into several payments and which the coach has still not received,” the note said.

“Given the non-compliance with the agreement, FIFA could take action on the matter and give another sanction to the team that started its journey to the 2026 World Cup with -3 points in the standings,” the newspaper added.

The note also stated that Conmebol is aware of the situation and insists that if an agreement is not reached with the coach, there will be a loss of points for La Tri.

“Conmebol is aware of Alfaro’s situation and FIFA’s intervention. “World football’s governing body could punish Ecuador with three to six point deductions in the current game, if no reconciliation is reached,” he concluded. Time from Bogota. (D)