\n
Ecuador are set to take on the Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and Germany at this summer\u2019s World Cup and will be able to call upon one of their most high-profile stars after his ban was struck off<\/h2>\n <\/p>\n\n
\n
\nMoises Caicedo will not miss Ecuador’s opening World Cup game(Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/p>\n
Moises Caicedo will NOT serve a ban at this summer\u2019s World Cup, FIFA have confirmed. The Chelsea midfielder had a nervous wait to determine whether he would miss Ecuador\u2019s first game at the tournament at the Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
He had been banned following a red card he was awarded in his nation\u2019s final qualifier against Argentina back in September. Usually, he would serve a one-match ban for his dismissal but FIFA have decided not to enforce that.<\/p>\n
A bureau consisting of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as well as six continental football chiefs, have decided that any sanctions picked up in qualifiers would not be served at the tournament itself.<\/p>\n
Instead, their suspensions will be served in other international competitions after the World Cup. A statement from the game\u2019s governing body read: \u201cSingle yellow cards and pending one- or two-match suspensions\u2026 are not carried over to the final competition.<\/p>\n
It added that FIFA wanted to ensure teams “can compete with their strongest possible squads on the biggest stage of men\u2019s international football.”<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo backed to play at 2030 World Cup despite retirement vow<\/span><\/span>READ MORE: Donald Trump admits he wouldn’t pay obscene World Cup ticket prices in blow to FIFA<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nJOIN US ON FACEBOOK!<\/strong> Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football’s Facebook page<\/u><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Other beneficiaries from the decision include former Manchester City star, Nicolas Otamendi, who was also sent off in the game between Argentina and Ecuador. Qatar defender Tarek Salman will also be available for his nation despite being sent off against United Arab Emirates in October.<\/p>\n
FIFA\u2019s decisions come after Cristiano Ronaldo was spared a ban despite a red card against the Republic of Ireland in November. The Portuguese forward was handed a three-game suspension and has served one of those but the remaining two games are deferred for a year.<\/p>\n
He and Caicedo will now be available for their respective countries this summer. Speaking ahead of the tournament, the Chelsea man said: “It’s a badge of pride.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRonaldo was sent off but escaped a World Cup ban(Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
“Not everyone gets to play in the World Cup, so we\u2019ve got to take pride in having qualified. Having said that, we know that it\u2019s a short competition and we have to make the most of it. We can\u2019t settle for just qualifying: we know we\u2019re capable of more.<\/p>\n
“We’re well aware of the quality in our ranks, and we\u2019re raring to take that next step so that the days when simply qualifying was the be-all and end-all are confined to the past.”<\/p>\n
He added: “I don’t want to get into how far we could go, but what I can tell you is that we\u2019re going to savour the occasion and try to perform to the best of our ability. We’ll seek to impose our game and will give absolutely everything.<\/p>\n
“We’re all working hard with our clubs and every time we report for international duty, which is vital, as it’ll allow us to hit the ground running once the World Cup comes around.”<\/p>\n
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click<\/em> <\/strong>this link<\/em> <\/strong>to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our<\/em> <\/strong>Privacy Notice.<\/em><\/strong>\n
\n
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package<\/p>\n
\n
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.<\/p>\n
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ecuador are set to take on the Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and Germany at this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}