Giuseppe Rossi has been reprimanded but not banned for failing a doping test last May.
The former Manchester United forward tested positive for a banned substance in a random test following Genoa’s clash with Benevento on May 12.
At a hearing of the Italian National Anti-Doping Organisation’s (NADO) tribunal on Monday, he was ordered to be more careful in the future after his defence claimed the substance had involuntarily contaminated his food, but he escaped a ban.
“Giuseppe has been treated in good faith,” his solicitor, Sergio Puglisi Maraia, told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “No sanction has been levied, just a reprimand; a warning to be more careful next time.
“We don’t know how this substance could have ended up in Rossi’s food, but there was no intent [to dope]. Good faith and coherence have prevailed.”
Rossi is currently without a club after being released by Genoa at the end of last season.
The 31-year-old faced the prospect of a lengthy ban but will now be relieved to be able to seek a club where he can continue a career that has been blighted by injury.
His most successful years came between 2007 and 2013 with Villarreal, while a return to Serie A with Fiorentina in 2013 drew 16 goals in just 34 games spread over three seasons.