Giuseppe Rossi gets off in dope case

(ANSA) - Rome, October 1 - Former Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi got off with a rap on the knuckles for using a banned substance on Monday.
    The Italian anti-doping agency (NADO) court went no further than apportioning "blame" in the use of dorzolamide.
    Sporting prosecutors requested that a tribunal ban Rossi for one year.
    The 31-year-old tested positive for a substance that is allowed only in one specific case after playing for Genoa in a 1-0 defeat at Benevento in Serie A last season,.
    When asked about the positive test by anti-doping agency Nado Italia, Rossi allegedly failed to give an adequate explanation as to why the substance was in his system.
    United States-born Rossi was long considered one of Italian football's top prospects, but his career has been hampered by a long series of injuries.
    The former Parma, Villarreal and Fiorentina forward is a free agent after parting company with Genoa at the end of last season.
    Genoa coach Davide Ballardini said: "I don't have many certainties in life but one is that Giuseppe Rossi can't have used banned substances.
    "And I'm certain that Rossi didn't".
    Rossi himself said "I have always been clean, this is a clear case to be shelved: the positive test is due to an involuntary food contamination".