Maldini, his son and Italy captain, Paolo and Brazilian striker Ronaldo all testified as witnesses in a wide-ranging doping probe which has rocked Italian soccer.

Ronaldo appeared before a magistrate in Turin while the Maldinis gave evidence in Rome to an anti-doping panel of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), which oversees Italian sport

"It (investigation) should close soon," Maldini said yesterday. "The championship is starting soon and there's been so much gossip and so much confusion about all this."

"In the midst of all the gossip it could well be there are grains of truth but, as far as I'm aware, there is no drug abuse in soccer."

The probe was sparked by AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman's assertion that drug taking was on the increase in Serie A and that it was becoming more and moredifficult (for players) to resist the temptation of magic pills.

Zeman named Juventus and Italy striker Alessandro Del Piero and former Juventus captain Gianluca Vialli in connection with his suspicions. He did not accuse them directly.

Cesare Maldini jumped to Juve's defence.

"It's absolutely not as he (Zeman) says. You only have to look at how Juventus train to understand," he said.

The probe has focused, among other things, on the use and alleged abuse of the amino acid Creatine, which occurs naturally in the body and aids muscle contraction.

Creatine is not a banned substance and some clubs, including Juventus, use it to help players recovering from injury. Other clubs refuse to use it and some coaches say it should be banned.

"I've got a delicate stomach and I don't take Creatine," Paolo Maldini said. "But there's no need to demonise those who do take it."

The AC Milan captain defended soccer's medical officers. "Creatine isn't treated lightly," he said. "The doctors don't give it out as ifit were our morning croissants."

Ronaldo said simply that he had testified because he wanted to help the inquiry, which is threatening to overshadow the start of the League Championship on September 13.

"The magistrate asked me lots of things and I made my contribution," he said, declining to give further details.

"Anyway, at Inter Milan we're all calm about it."