Peru captain to miss World Cup

Peru captain Paolo Guerrero will miss the World Cup after being banned by Fifa for one year because of a positive test for cocaine.

The suspension imposed by the Fifa disciplinary committee covers "all types of matches" and was backdated to start on November 3, football's governing body said on Friday (Saturday NZ Time).

The 33-year-old Guerrero tested positive for "cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine," a banned stimulant, after a World Cup qualifying game in Argentina on October 5.

He can appeal to Fifa to overturn the ban. If that fails, Guerrero and the Peruvian football federation have a further legal route at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Guerrero, a striker, was Peru's top scorer with six goals in World Cup qualifying.

When Fifa provisionally banned Guerrero while prosecuting the case, he missed Peru's decisive intercontinental playoff win over New Zealand.

Last week, Peru was drawn into a World Cup group with face France, Denmark and Australia.

Guerrero's lawyer, Pedro Fida, told Peru's RPP Noticias that the sanction is "absurd" and promised to appeal.

"The evidence is clear, and when added to the low concentration of the substance typical of coca leaves there can be no justification under any circumstances for this decision," Fida said.

The 33-year-old plays for Brazilian club Flamengo, helping them to finish sixth in the 2017 Brazilian Serie A to qualify for the 2018 Copa Libertadores group stage, win the Rio de Janeiro state league title for a record-extending 34th as the competition's leading scorer with 10 goals and the Copa do Brasil final. Flamengo has also reached the Copa Sudamericana final against Argentina's Independiente, but Guerrero has missed the semifinals and final since his provisional ban was handed down.

 

 

Photo by: TIM BRADBURY/GETTY IMAGES. Peru's Paolo Guerrero will not be able to play football again until November 3, 2018, meaning he'll miss the Fifa World Cup.