Sexual assault charges made against Chelsea forward Lucas Piazon have been dropped by Canadian police following an investigation.
The 22-year-old - currently on loan at Championship side Reading - had been accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping female with Brazilian teammate Andrey da Silva Ventura in July last year while the pair were in Canada for the Pan Am Games.
In a statement, Piazon's lawyers hit out at the Toronto Police for their handling of the investigation.
"This unsupportable and irresponsible allegation by Toronto Police wrongly and unfairly tarnished Mr Piazon's unblemished reputation," the statement read. "Prior to the announcement the police knew that today's decision to withdraw the charge was inevitable.
"The decision to withdraw the charge – on the basis that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction – reflects the thorough and professional examination of this matter by senior and experienced Crown prosecutors. The Crown's guidance had been sought – but clearly ignored – by the police prior to their October press conference.
"It is both regrettable and unacceptable that the police chose to disregard the balanced and fair-minded assessment made by the Crown, and to defiantly proceed to announce charges when the conclusion had been reached that the evidence could not justify a trial."
The charges against Ventura are still being investigated.
