ITALY captain Fabio Cannavaro has failed a doping test after taking a medicine that contained the banned substance cortisone.

The former World Player-of-the-Year was allegedly stung by a wasp and took a medicine that contained cortisone.

He requested an exemption on the grounds of having taken a medication in the case of an emergency but his request was missing a document and while awaiting a decision he was subjected to an anti-doping test, which returned a positive result.

Sources close to his club Juventus have claimed he took nothing more than an anti-allergy medicine.

Cannavaro is currently on international duty preparing for Italy’s last two World Cup qualifiers against Ireland in Dublin tomorrow and then at home to Cyprus on Wednesday.

Cannavaro is suspended for the Ireland match but was expected to return to the team he captained to World Cup glory in 2006 for the Cyprus game.

He is due to be interviewed by the Italian Olympic Committee’s (Coni) anti-doping prosecutor Etorre Torri this morning in Turin.

Coni released a statement on its website explaining the circumstances of the positive test without revealing if any action has been taken against the play