Damiano David, the lead singer of the Italian rock band that won Eurovision, returned a negative drug test after he was accused of snorting cocaine at the grand final.
During the live counting of the votes, Damiano was filmed bending over a table, fuelling social media speculation that the Italian had been taking drugs.
The Eurovision Broadcasting Union issued a statement and concluded "no drug use took place in the Green Room and we consider the matter closed."
"The European Broadcasting Union as requested by the Italian delegation, has conducted a thorough review of the facts, including checking all available footage," the EBU said.
"A drug test was also voluntarily undertaken earlier today by the lead singer of the band Måneskin which has returned a negative result seen by the EBU."
EBU also stated it was "alarmed that inaccurate speculation leading to fake news has overshadowed the spirit and the outcome of the event and unfairly affected the band.
When asked at a post-victory news conference about the footage, Damiano claimed he’d bent over because guitarist Thomas Raggi had broken a glass at his feet.
Italian rock band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday. Source: Maneskin/Twitter
“Thomas break a glass. I don’t use drugs,” Damiano said.
“Please guys don’t say that really, no cocaine.”
On Monday, the EBUthat broken glass was found under the table Maneskin had been sitting at.
The group fielded questions from a scrum of reporters outside baggage claim as they arrived from Rotterdam in the Netherlands - where the song contest was held - to Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci airport.
Bass player Victoria De Angelis said drug use would go completely against the band’s ethos and message.
“We are totally against cocaine and the use of drugs and we would have never done it, of course,” she said. “So we are shocked that many people believe this.”
In Italy, the drug claim didn't mar the praise that poured in Sunday following the group's victory.
Fan-favourite Maneskin finished on 529 points, toppling France which placed second and Switzerland, which ranked third.
Damiano, Thomas, Ethan and Victoria from the Italian rock band, Maneskin. Source: Francis Delacroix
For the first time since 2015, Australia did not qualify for the grand final. Australia’s Montaigne was the only artist who was unable to perform live in Rotterdam due to the pandemic and instead submitted a pre-recorded performance of ‘Technicolour’.
Maneskin received a staggering 318 points from viewers, the highest popular vote in this year’s annual song festival.
"Rock'n'roll never dies, tonight we made history. We love u," the band tweeted before heading back home from Rotterdam.
Maneskin, Danish for "moonlight" and a tribute to band member De Angelis' Danish ancestry, got their start busking on the main thoroughfare in Rome.
“We’re four friends playing the music we love,” said lead singer Damiano at the press conference on Sunday.
“All our hard work finally made sense.”
Maneskin said they plan to celebrate their victory by “jumping in the river” and that their favourite song this year was Go_A’s Shum from Ukraine, who placed 5th.
Maneskin's win was only Italy's third victory in the contest and the first since Toto Cutugno took the honour in 1990. The victory means Italy will host next year's competition.
Additional reporting by AAP
