The Napoli midfielder and then-Brescia teammate Davide Possanzini were suspended for 12 months after turning up 25 minutes late to a routine doping test.

They argued this was unfair, as they had been held up in a post-match team talk in the locker room and their tests eventually came back negative.

The ban was suspended last month pending a new appeal backed by the Italian Federation, Olympic Committee and FIFA.

“I told the judges everything that happened on that absurd afternoon two years ago,” explained Mannini after his 10-hour testimony at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“I hope that a positive verdict can come of all this. Now I can focus on the game against Sampdoria.”