Guerrero back from drugs ban

PERU boss Ricardo Gareca has declared captain Paolo Guerrero ready for the World Cup following the temporary lifting of his drugs ban.

The South Americans play their first match at the finals since 1982 when they face Denmark in Group C today, and Guerrero, their record scorer, is clear to feature in Russia.

He was granted a temporary lifting of his suspension by the Swiss Federal Court, to which he appealed after the ban was extended from six to 14 months.

Gareca said yesterday: “Paolo I think is very, very fit. Whatever happened before, I think now he is training at a very high level and he really is ready to play.”

Gareca would not confirm whether the 34-year-old would start the game in Saransk, though, saying: “I always wait until the last second to decide who’s going to be in my team.”

Having tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine in October, Guerrero — who says it was accidentally consumed in contaminated tea he drank — was handed a 12-month ban, which was then halved on appeal by Fifa.

But after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed against that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it was increased to 14 months.

When the Swiss Federal Court made its subsequent ruling it said assessment of the case would only be possible after parties had been notified of the justification for the CAS decision.

The captains of Denmark, France and Australia, Peru’s