Official Announcement: Paolo Guerrero's Suspension

It's official. If you had any doubts that FIFA has reduced the suspension of Paolo Guerrero, here is the official statement from the world football governing body, confirming what the player's lawyers announced.

On December 20, 2017, the FIFA Appeals Committee decided to partially uphold the appeal made by Peruvian international player Paolo Guerrero. The disciplinary decision made by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on December 7 to suspend the player for one year was partially overturned, and the initial one-year ineligibility period was reduced to six months.

The FIFA Appeals Committee, after considering all the circumstances of the case, particularly the player's degree of fault, deems a six-month ineligibility period to be a proportionate punishment.

The player tested positive for the metabolite benzoylecgonine, a substance included in the 2017 WADA Prohibited List under the class "S6". Stimulants", after a doping control test carried out following the preliminary competition match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup ™ played in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 5, 2017.

By testing positive for a prohibited substance, the player violated Article 6 of the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations and, as such, contravened Article 63 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
The suspension period starts on November 3, 2017, the date the player was provisionally suspended by the Chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. In accordance with Article 29 of the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations, the suspension covers, among others, all types of matches, including national, international, friendly, and official matches. The terms of the decision were duly notified today.