Rio de Janeiro, April 30 (IANS) Chile international goalkeeper Johnny Herrera is free to play in the FIFA World Cup despite being handed a 150-day prison term for serious driving offences.
A judge in Quintero, in the Chilean region of Valparaiso, ruled Tuesday that the 32-year-old could serve the sentence under house arrest with the right to travel with Chile’s national team, should he be selected, reports Xinhua.
The World Cup will be played in 12 Brazilian cities from June 12 to July 13. Chile have been drawn in Group B alongside Spain, the Netherlands and Australia.
Herrera has also had his license revoked for two years and fined $700 dollars.
The Universidad de Chile player was arrested in September 2012 for driving under the influence of alcohol while his license was suspended.
He was banned from driving in December 2009 after he was driving inebriated and killed a pedestrian.
Herrera has won four international caps for Chile. He was last year recalled by national coach Jorge Sampaoli for the first time since 2002 for friendlies against Haiti and Senegal.