~snip~
In the first place, I believe it is unfair for a whole team or a nation to suffer punishment because of the fault of an individual. An individual has committed this shameful act, and he is the one who should be punished for it, not the entire nation as a whole. It is very unfortunate that FIFA is even considering the possibility of getting Ecuador banned from taking part in the World Cup. As far as I am concerned, it is really hurtful not only for the fans of Ecuador but also for the whole world. I just hope that Ecuador gets a chance to play in the World Cup and that only the player involved will be punished and not the entire nation as a whole.
It's not really a ban. It's standard procedure in FIFA.
If a team fields an ineligible player, and FIFA finds out, they forfeit the match where the player was fielded, and the opponent is given a 3 - 0 win.
This happens all the time:
AS Roma forfeit game 3-0 after fielding ineligible player
Nigeria lose 3-0 to Algeria after FIFA forfeit match as punishment for fielding ineligible player
Fifa rules bar players from switching national teams once they have played a competitive international, and French Guiana had been informed of the rule before the tournament. The standard sanction for fielding an ineligible player is to forfeit the game 3-0
Bolivia forfeit two matches for fielding ineligible player
Equatorial Guinea sanctioned for fielding ineligible player
Greece sanctioned for fielding ineligible player in friendly. The match is declared to be lost by forfeit and awarded 3-0 in favor of Turkey, with the HFF also receiving a fine of CHF 4,000 after the FIFA Disciplinary Committee considered the HFF liable for having breached art. 55 par. 2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).
Yemen have forfeited their World Cup qualifier against North Korea, a match they made a Herculean effort to take part in, after fielding an ineligible player, FIFA said on Monday. Yemen, officially the home side for the match played in Qatar, lost 1-0 on the pitch on June 11. But that became a 3-0 walkover after the disciplinary committee of world soccer’s governing body ruled that they fielded Mudir Abdurabu Ali Al Radaei who should have been serving a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards.
And so on.
As you see, it's a very standard procedure. If FIFA decides the Ecuadorian team fielded an ineligible player, then they will forfeit the matches in which he played, and give a 3 - 0 victory to the opponent. And if that happens, and you do the math of the qualifiers, then Chile ends up in 4th place, qualifying to the world cup, instead of Ecuador.