CAS reopens case of banned duo

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has reopened the case of two Italian footballers banned for a year for being late to a 2007 drugs test.

CAS originally suspended Napoli winger Daniele Mannini and Brescia striker Davide Possanzini after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) challenged the original 15-day ban issued by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).

The players did not test positive and the severity of the sentence produced an outcry in Italy.

"CAS has accepted (it will) re-open the procedure and reconvene the panel of arbitrators in charge of this matter," CAS said in a statement to Reuters.

Mannini and Possanzini, who were both playing for Brescia in December 2007, were ordered to attend a dressing room meeting with their coach following the club's third successive defeat, leading to their late arrival for the doping tests.