Soccer News

Chile avoids threat of World Cup exclusion

Nov 27, 2009, 2:20 GMT

   Santiago - Chilean football club Rangers de Talca on Thursday withdrew an appeal against their relegation from the country's first division, ending a crisis that could have seen Chile excluded from the World Cup spot that the team earned in qualifying.

   The rules of world football governing body FIFA forbid appeals in civil courts. The lawsuit could have led to the Chilean football federation ANFP being banned from all international competition, including the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

   Rangers had inadvertently put six foreign players on the field in a league game, exceeding the Chilean federation's limit of five foreigners. The rules violation led ANFP to impose a three-point penalty on the team, which bumped Rangers into relegation, provoking the lawsuit.