Gonzalo Jara's 3-match ban reduced on appeal, still won't feature again at Copa America
Gonzalo Jara will be able to take the pitch when Chile kicks off its 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The 29-year-old centre-back was initially given a three-match suspension from The Disciplinary Tribunal of CONMEBOL for giving Edinson Cavani an unscheduled colonoscopy during Chile's violent 1-0 win over Uruguay at the Copa America.
However, the Asociacion Nacional de Futbol Profesional successfully appealed the decision on Monday, resulting in the ban being reduced to only two games.
Two matches remain in Chile's Copa America campaign: a semi-final versus Peru on Monday night followed by the final or the third-place game. As a result, Jara will be eligible to play when World Cup qualifying gets underway in South America in October.
Jara's vulgar antics appear to have cost him employment with his club, as FSV Mainz 05 sports director Christian Heidel recently said: "He knows that if an offer comes he can go. We do not tolerate that. More than the prod, however, it is what comes afterwards that makes me angry. I hate theatrics more than anything."
Here's video of the incident: