Cannavaro doping issue overshadows qualification

ROME: Italy host Cyprus in Parma on Wednesday in a World Cup Group Eight qualifier which should act as a celebratory occasion but has so far been overshadowed by a doping row involving the world champions' captain Fabio Cannavaro.

The Juventus centerback tested positive for the banned substance cortisone in August but on Monday was exonerated by the Italian Olympic Committee after they accepted his club's assertion that he had taken a medication in an emergency after his arm swelled up following an insect sting.

The affair, although now technically over, has left a sour taste with an angry Cannavaro hitting out at the press.