Peru captain Guerrero free to play at World Cup after ban cut

Peru captain Paolo Guerrero will be able to play at the World Cup after Fifa's appeal committee cut his ban for failing a doping test from one year to six months on Wednesday.

Guerrero, 33, who plays for Flamengo in Brazil, had been suspended by the world governing body on December 8th after testing positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine after Peru’s 0-0 draw away to Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in October.

The ban, backdated to start on November 3rd, will now finish in May, just over one month before the start of the tournament in Russia.

“The Fifa Appeal Committee after taking into account all the circumstances of the case, in particular the degree of fault of the player, considered a six-month period of ineligibility to be a proportionate sanction,” said Fifa.