NEW YORK, Dec 8 — Peru captain Paolo Guerrero will miss next year's World Cup finals after being handed a one-year ban for taking cocaine, Fifa said today.
The 33-year-old striker, who plays for Flamengo in Brazil, had been provisionally suspended after failing a doping test following Peru's World Cup qualifier against Argentina in Buenos Aires in October.
World football's governing body said in a statement its Disciplinary Committee had found that Guerrero had violated article six of the organisation's Anti-Doping Regulations.
Cocaine is categorised as a stimulant and is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of performance-enhancing substances.
Peru qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1982 by beating New Zealand in a two-legged playoff. Guerrero missed both of those matches.
His ban will be back-dated to Nov. 3 and will apply to international, domestic and official friendly fixtures. — Reuters
