Cannavaro cleared of doping
Reuters - Monday 12 October 2009, 14:22
ROME - Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was
cleared of doping on Monday after failing a drugs test following
treatment for an insect sting, the Italian Olympic Committee
(CONI) said.
"(CONI's anti-doping tribunal) has dropped proceedings
against Fabio Cannavaro, considering well-founded the
prosecutor's request for them to be dropped," read a statement
on CONI's website.
The Juventus defender received emergency cortisone treatment
for a sting on August 28 and failed a dope test after a Serie A
match two days later.
The 36-year-old had requested an exemption for the
medication but did not receive it before he was tested because
of a mix-up over the documentation.
Cannavaro said on Monday his club had messed up with the
exemption request but blasted the media for their handling of
the story.
"I'm furious," Cannavaro told reporters at the training
centre near Florence where Italy are preparing for their final
2010 World Cup qualifier against Cyprus. "My conscience is
clean.
"You get stung by a bee and then you find yourself in the
newspaper as if you had been doping. Some newspapers and
television channels went too far.
"It's the second time in my life that I've found myself
gratuitously in the newspapers for a story like this.
"I hope this story does not follow me beyond today. My
career has always been distinguished by respect for the rules."
Cannavaro was famously videoed inserting a drip into his arm
on the eve of a 3-0 victory over Olympique Marseille in the 1999
UEFA Cup final when playing for Parma.
His lawyer confirmed the drip contained Neoton, a drug used
in cardiac surgery to protect the heart, and was not on the
World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances.
The defender is expected to return for Italy against Cyprus
in Parma on Wednesday. He missed Saturday's 2-2 draw with
Ireland in Dublin, which secured the world champions's place in
South Africa, through suspension.