LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Peru captain Paolo Guerrero is testifying at sport’s highest court in a doping case that could ban him from the World Cup next month.
Jose Paolo Guerrero soccer player from Peru, arrives for a hearing at the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, on his doping ban in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, May 3, 2018. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Guerrero was met by around 20 Peru fans outside the Court of Arbitration for Sport before an appeal hearing on Thursday into his positive test for cocaine metabolites at a World Cup qualifying game last October.
CAS said a verdict could come next week.
Peru must name a provisional squad by May 14 for its first World Cup appearance since 1982. It plays in a group with France, Denmark and Australia.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed to increase the 34-year-old Guerrero’s ban to one to two years.
Guerrero separately appealed to CAS to overturn his six-month ban by FIFA, which expires this week. His lawyers have argued the small amount of cocaine detected was not performance enhancing and was accidentally consumed in contaminated tea.
FIFA initially suspended Guerrero for one year through Nov. 3, but reduced it on appeal, clearing him to play at the World Cup.
Anti-doping rules prohibit the use of cocaine in an athlete’s competition period. Guerrero tested positive at a qualifier against Argentina which Peru drew 0-0.
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