Qatar Ecuador Bribe

Major World Cup scandal: 8 Ecuador players bribed to lose game on purpose vs. Qatar?

Qatar has been accused of bribing Ecuador players to lose their FIFA World Cup 2022 opener, scheduled for Sunday in Al Khor.

Qatar Ecuador Bribe

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is finally here, with hosts Qatar set to face Ecuador in the opener on Sunday, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

Hosting a World Cup is a big responsibility, one that Qatar does not seem to be handling well. In recent weeks, there have been increasing reports exposing the violation of human rights, the country and the lack of guarantees they have in place to cope with an event that brings together multiple cultures from around the world.

As if that were not enough, now the hosts of the World Cup are facing serious accusations, which would leave them in a bad light. According to Amjad Taha, an expert in strategic political affairs and regional director of the British center in Saudi Arabia. He reported that eight Ecuadorian players are alleged to have been bribed $7.4 million in exchange for winning the match against Qatar.
The hosts have had to get past countless controversies to reach this point. Some of the accusations revolve around Qatar paying bribes to win their World Cup bid and also allegations of human rights abuse for their migrant workers. Now the Arab country finds itself caught in another fresh scandal, just a day before their World Cup opener.
According to Amjad Taha, an expert in strategic political affairs and regional director of the British center in Saudi Arabia, Qatar allegedly bribed eight Ecuadorian players 7.4 million dollars to lose the opener.

Ecuador is coached by Argentine trainer coach Gustavo Alfaro. The team has also been involved in a controversy regarding the inclusion of Colombia-born Byron Castillo during the qualifying round.

Castillo was proven not to have finalized his nationalization process when he was already playing for Ecuador. Despite Chile’s protests, FIFA allowed Ecuador to participate in this year’s tournament but have been penalized with the deduction of three points for the next qualifying round the 2026 finals.

Chile argued the result of the game irregularly featuring Castillo should have been ruled a loss for Ecuador, which would have thus given a ticket to Qatar for “The Reds.”

In this year’s event, Ecuador will face Qatar in the opening game, and then Senegal and The Netherlands, who are the favorites in their group.

Controversy has reared its ugly head ever since Qatar were awarded the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, but on the field, Sanchez Bas and his crop of soon-to-be history-makers have simply tried to give themselves the best possible chance of making it out of Group A.