Peru Captain Paolo Guerrero to Miss World Cup As CAS Extend Doping Ban to 14 Months

Peru captain Paolo Guerrero has seen his World Cup dream crushed after having his doping ban lengthened.

The former Bayern Munich striker was previously set to lead his country to their first World Cup final since 1982 following the reduction of his suspension for a positive doping test. But, per Sky Sports, the Court of Arbitration (CAS) for Sport upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency to extend said ban after it expired this month.

The suspension will now span a 14-month period and will remain valid until January.

Guerrero, 34, tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, at a World Cup qualifier against Argentina in October of last year. But his solicitors argued that the drug was not a performance-enhancing substance and had been ingested accidentally, by means of "contaminated tea."

The court has since announced that their judging panel “also accepted that he did not attempt to enhance his performance by ingesting the prohibited substance.”

“However, the Panel considered that the Player did bear some fault or negligence, even if it was not significant, and that he could have taken some measures to prevent him from committing the [doping violations]."

The striker, also Peru's highest-ever scorer, returned to play for Flamengo earlier this month and scored his first goal since the suspension on Sunday.

“There is no reason for me to be suspended," he claimed after the match. "I did nothing wrong and I trust the court to make the right decision.”