After six days in the South American qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup, Ecuador is the only one of the ten Conmebol teams to have a sports sanction, as the qualifying tournament began with the deduction of 3 points.

That penalty was handed down on November 8, 2022 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), whose judges found that Tricolor improperly lined up Byron Castillo on the way to Qatar (due to having an Ecuadorian passport with “false information” and because, according to TAS, the defender was born in Tumac, Colombia in 1995, not in Ecuador in 1998).

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But apparently, after a third of the qualifiers for the Conmebol area are completed, the other national teams could be sanctioned with the same measure that applies to Ecuador: deducting points. Newspapers also agree on this AS and Brandfrom Spain, i the thirdFrom Chile.

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‘Tension in South America’

The Santiago newspaper says: “Argentina, Brazil and Peru, in the crosshairs: loss of points and possible FIFA sanctions that would affect the qualifying rounds. Violence marked the duels between Albiceleste and Canarinha, as well as Bicolor together with Vinotinto. Therefore, world football’s governing body is analyzing possible penalties for the teams in question.”

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Brandfrom Madrid, publishes this Tuesday: “Uncertainty and possible scandal in South America: FIFA sanctions could change the qualification table for 2026. The episodes that happened in the last games of 2023 in the Conmebol classification caused controversy and would have consequences” .

And for the other mentioned newspaper, also from the Spanish capital: “More problems for Brazil: they could be sanctioned by losing points. “FIFA could open an investigation against Brazil over the scandal at the Maracana in the South American Classic and could face several sanctions, including the deduction of points.”

The Ecuador national team and the ‘Ven tú’ team

Illegal residents

As for Peru, the third reports: “The Peruvian team could be penalized with the loss of points, which could spell the end of their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup to be held in Mexico, the United States and Canada. Reason? Bad behavior from Peruvian fans. “The incidents that took place in the clash against the Venezuelan team could mean a painful sanction from FIFA.”

But there is another aspect that could further complicate the southern team, which also has no coach: “There was a lot of racist slurs at the visiting team, along with the apparent ill-treatment of Llanera fans by the police. On the other hand, the determination of the Peruvian authorities in deciding to monitor the entire visitor audience, in order to find residents in an illegal situation, was also disturbing,” media from Santiago point out.

About Brazil and Argentina, Brand He says the lack is in South American qualifications. “This time it is not because of problems with irregular registrations of players (the note refers to the case of Byron Castillo) or because of debts and requests to the federations. The case (of the auriverdes and gauchos) would be based on bad behavior by fans, teams and conflicts with the authorities, all in light of what the current FIFA Disciplinary Code indicates.”

What’s going on with Tri?

The note highlights “painful images of Brazilian and Argentine fans fighting in the stands of the Maracana stadium, the subsequent aggressive intervention of the Rio de Janeiro police and the withdrawal of the Argentine players due to the lack of guarantees offered by the organization.” Brazilian. In view of these painful events, FIFA has announced that a file has been opened to analyze everything that happened.”

Article 17 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code states that “host clubs and associations are responsible for order and security before, during and after matches.” For Or the Globefrom Rio de Janeiro, “there could even be points deducted on the way to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.”

How many points would Argentina (leading, with 15), Brazil (sixth, with 7) and Peru (last, with 2) lose if there were sanctions? If penalties are handed down, the order would change, but it would depend on how many units are taken from Lionel Messi’s team to see if Ecuador’s place changes. Tricolor is fifth, with eight units. (D)