An appeal has been sent to FIFA by Players union FIFPRO on behalf of captain Paolo Guerrero of Peru to be allowed to participate in the World Cup.
Captain Guerrero was given a doping ban from the country’s first World Cup for 36 years over cocaine contained in a cup of tea infused with coca leaves.
FIFPro, which has disapproved the ban hopes there can be bnraekthrough in the next 24-48 hours.”
Earlier this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to increase the length of Guerrero’s ban.
The 34-year-old had initially been banned for 12 months after testing positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.
After which FIFA reduced the punishment to six months, which would have enabled him to play in Russia,but CAS increased the suspension on the grounds that Guerrero bore “some fault or negligence” for the positive test and must face a ban of between one and two years under FIFA’s anti-doping rules.
The court said its panel accepted that Guerrero did not intend to drink contaminated tea, and that the drink was not to enhance his pitch performance.