Friday 6 February 2015 21:22, UK
Giuseppe Bellusci has been cleared of racially abusing Norwich forward Cameron Jerome.
The Leeds defender has always maintained his innocence following an incident in the first half of the side's 1-1 draw at Carrow Road last October.
Bellusci was charged with misconduct by the FA shortly before Christmas but an independent regulatory commission has decided to drop the case after the 25-year-old Italian attended a personal hearing to deny the charge.
In a statement, his club said: "Leeds is pleased to note the decision of the FA panel to clear Giuseppe who has made it clear from the moment the incident happened that he did not use racist language.”
The FA’s director of football governance Darren Bailey said: "We acknowledge the decision and we'll take our time to assess and digest the reasons behind the verdict.
"We will of course await the written reasons of the independent regulatory commission but it remains essential that the FA continues to bring forward charges where we believe there is a credible case to answer.
"We fully and promptly investigated this matter from the moment it was brought to our attention and this underlines our commitment to the reporting process, which has been strengthened by both the FA and Kick It Out over recent years.
"We note that the independent regulatory commission stated that the complainant was a truthful and honest witness. I would stress to any players involved in incidents where they believe discrimination has taken place to report it to us immediately.
"The FA has clear procedures on how to do this for those who wish to make a complaint."
Anti-discrimination campaign group Kick It Out released its own statement which said: "We now await the publication of the full written reasons behind the decision, and will be looking to speak to Cameron Jerome to ascertain how he wishes to proceed, and what support we can offer him."
In the aftermath of the incident, Leeds owner Massimo Cellino said he would throw Bellusci out of the club if he was found guilty.
Norwich said they were "deeply disappointed" by the verdict and Jerome also released a statement on the club's official website.
He said: "I heard a comment made to me which was totally unacceptable during the game against Leeds and I reported it straight away to the referee.
"I'm glad the commission has said that they believe I truthfully reported what I genuinely believe I heard.
"While I'm obviously disappointed with the not proven verdict, now I'm just focussing as always on my next game for Norwich City. But I will always continue to report anything unacceptable I hear said to me on or off the pitch and I would certainly encourage any other players in a similar situation to do so as well.
"We must stand up together to eradicate these problems from our game and our society."
