The captain of
Peru has been cleared by a Swiss supreme court judge to play at the
World Cup, despite a
doping ban.
Paolo Guerrero tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine at a World Cup qualifying game against Argentina in October. He argued the stimulant had not been performance enhancing and was accidentally consumed in contaminated tea.
Switzerland’s supreme court said it has granted an interim order to freeze Guerrero’s 14-month ban for a positive test. “Paolo Guerrero can take part in the next World Cup,” the court said.
Peru, who are making their first World Cup appearance since 1982, are in a group with France, Denmark and Australia.
The interim ruling puts the ban imposed by the court of arbitration for sport on hold until full consideration of the case at a later date. Cas had imposed the ban this month, upholding an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The Cas had said earlier on Thursday that it would not intervene in Guerrero’s legal campaign to play at the World Cup. It said it would “not object” if a federal judge decided to freeze the ban.
Cas accepted his argument when it heard Guerrero’s appeal on 3 May. His Fifa-imposed ban of six months had expired that same day. However, the Cas judges increased the ban to 14 months, upholding a counterappeal by Wada. The panel decided a ban to January 2019 was an “appropriate sanction … in light of Mr Guerrero’s degree of fault.”