Peru captain Guerrero's doping ban reimposed by Swiss court

Peru captain Paolo Guerrero's doping ban, which was temporarily lifted for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been reimposed by a Swiss court.

Guerrero was banned for 14 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in May, which would have kept him out of the FIFA World Cup, after testing positive for a cocaine byproduct contained in a tea he drank.

The 34-year-old, who has denied wrongdoing, appealed to the Swiss Federal Court, the final part of the sporting judicial system, who on May 31 agreed to lift the suspension pending a final decision.

Peru, playing at their first FIFA World Cup for 36 years, were eliminated in the group stage, although Guerrero scored when they beat the Socceroos 2-0 in their final game.
FIFA said in a statement that they had taken note of the Swiss court's decision 'to lift the provisional suspensive effect that had been granted with respect to the sanction imposed by CAS on the player Paolo Guerrero'.

"Therefore the suspension imposed by CAS is in place," they added.

The Swiss Federal Court did not reply to a request for comment.

Guerrero, who plays for Brazilian club Internacional, tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, after a FIFA World Cup qualifier away to Argentina in October.

He was initially given a 12-month ban by FIFA, starting in November, which ruled him out of the FIFA World Cup. That was reduced to six months on appeal, putting him back in the tournament.

However, CAS increased the ban to 14 months, again ruling him out of the finals, after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which considered six months to be too lenient.

Guerrero has said the substance was found in his system because of a herbal infusion he drank that was contaminated with coca leaf, an ingredient in cocaine which is also widely used as a non-narcotic traditional remedy in South America.

CAS recognised that Guerrero ingested the substance unknowingly and did not intend to enhance his performance.


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2 min read
Published 24 August 2018 8:23am
Source: Reuters


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