Peru captain Guerrero cleared to play at FIFA World Cup
Peru captain Paolo Guerrero will be able to play at this summer's FIFA World Cup after a Swiss court granted a temporary lifting of his drug ban.
The 34-year-old striker, who has scored 32 goals in 86 appearances for his country, had been set to miss the finals having been given a 14-month suspension after testing positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine in October last year.
Guerrero, whose argument is that the substance was accidentally consumed in contaminated tea, was initially 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), believing six months to be too lenient, the ban was extended to 14 months, ruling him out of Russia 2018 - Peru's first World Cup finals since 1982.
However, a statement on Thursday from the Swiss Federal Court said the CAS decision "had no effect for the time being", meaning Guerrero will be able to play at the tournament, which runs from June 14 to July 15.
It said "the various disadvantages" Guerrero would suffer if he was not allowed to take part in a World Cup which "would represent the crowning glory of his football career" had been taken into account, and that "it should be noted that he did not act deliberately or through gross negligence."
It also emphasised the urgency, given Peru's final squad list for Russia must be submitted to FIFA no later than June 4.
It added that an assessment of the case would only be possible after parties had been notified of the justification for CAS' decision.
A statement from CAS on Thursday said it would not object to Guerrero's "urgent request for a stay of the execution of the suspension."
The CAS statement added: "So far, the CAS Panel has only issued its decision, without grounds. The reasoned award with the grounds for the CAS decision will be notified to the parties at a later stage."
Guerrero himself said in a statement that appeared on the official Twitter feed of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF): "This decision does justice, at least partially, and commits my thanks to the Swiss Court."
The former Bayern Munich and Hamburg forward, who currently plays for Brazilian side Flamengo, went on to mention the support he had received from his Peru team-mates, the FPF and its president Edwin Oviedo, and his gratitude to "millions of compatriots" and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
World football players' union FIFPro took Guerrero's case on and helped organise a meeting with Infantino in Zurich last week.
That followed an open letter sent to FIFA from the captains of Peru's three group-stage rivals - Australia, Denmark and France - calling on the international federation to delay the ban so Guerrero could play.
A FIFPro statement on Thursday said: "FIFPro is delighted that Paolo Guerrero has been successful in his legal battle to play for Peru in the 2018 World Cup.
"Along with many professional footballers around the world, we strongly believe that Guerrero's 14-month sanction for unknowingly ingesting a banned substance is unfair and disproportionate.
"Both FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed that Guerrero did not intend to cheat. Nor, they both agreed, was there any performance-enhancing effect.
"While Guerrero has won a temporary reprieve from the Swiss federal court, it is unfortunate that he has to endure such a protracted legal wrangle that is still not over.
"FIFPro reiterates its call for FIFA and other football stakeholders to immediately review anti-doping rules in football in order to protect the rights of professional players."