June 1 – First he was in, then he was out, he appealed, he lost, he appealed again. And now Peru captain Paolo Guerrero can play after all at the World Cup following a Swiss tribunal’s final verdict.
Two weeks ago Peru’s joy quickly turned to disappointment after Guerrero was ruled out of the World Cup when his doping ban, which had just expired, was increased from six to 14 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Just hours after being named in the country’s initial squad for Russia, anti-doping authorities got their way by successfully appealing to get the ban increased.
Guerrero, Peru’s all-time top scorer, was originally suspended for a year by FIFA on December 8 after testing positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine following Peru’s 0-0 draw away to Argentina the previous October. He argued the stimulant had not been performance enhancing and was accidentally consumed in contaminated tea.
FIFA reduced the ban to six months, meaning it technically ended in time for him to play at the World Cup in Russia but CAS then upheld an appeal by WADA.
Now, however, in an interim ruling that is a somewhat humiliating blow to sport’s highest court, the Swiss supreme court has agreed to temporarily lift CAS’s 14-month suspension while it considers the 34-year-old striker’s case.
The tribunal ruled that the extension was “unjustified” and is “provisionally deprived of effect”, leaving Guerrero free to play in Russia.
Guerrero isn’t only Peru’s all-time top scorer. He is their talisman and national hero and his reprieve will be lauded throughout the country. When CAS issued its ban, thousands fans took to the streets in protest.
In-form Peru, who are making their first World Cup appearance since 1982, are in a group with France, Denmark and Australia. “This decision does justice, at least partially, and I’m grateful to the Swiss court,” said Guerrero.
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