Josep Guardiola's suspended prison sentence has been overturned after the former Spain midfielder was cleared of doping charges.
Spaniard's suspended prison sentence overturned
Josep Guardiola's suspended prison sentence has been overturned after the former Spain midfielder was cleared of doping charges.
Guardiola was found guilty in 2005 of using the steroid nandrolone whilst playing for Serie A side Brescia four years earlier.
He denied the charges at the time and vowed to clear his name, but was forced to serve a four-month ban by the Italian soccer league.
Guardiola, the first player sentenced under an Italian law created in 2000, has expressed his relief at the news.
"Finally, after six years, the book is closed," Guardiola was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.
"They told me I had taken a banned substance. Now science has discovered things that they didn't know.
"When the news spread all over the world it was very nasty, but today is the most beautiful day of my life since becoming a father."
Guardiola, who retired last November, now coaches the reserve team of former club Barcelona.
