Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey has been heavy criticised by football chiefs for showing what they dub "a lamentable degree of ignorance" about Adolf Hitler, fascism and the Nazi regime.
A Football Association panel published its written reasons for the decision not to punish Hennessey for making a so-called Nazi salute on a night out with his Crystal Palace team-mates.
Hennessey denied the charge after he was pictured with his right arm in the air and left hand above his mouth in a photo posted on Instagram by German team-mate Max Meyer.
The Wales star told a regulatory commission any resemblance to a Nazi gesture was simply "absolutely coincidental".
Publishing the written reasons for the decision to clear Hennessey, the panel said they had no option but to accept the Wales number one was telling the truth.
"Mr Hennessey categorically denied that he was giving a Nazi salute. Indeed, from the outset he said that he did not even know what one was," said the panel in its written findings.
"Improbable as that may seem to those of us of an older generation, we do not reject that assertion as untrue.
"In fact, when cross-examined about this, Mr Hennessey displayed a very considerable - one might even say lamentable - degree of ignorance about anything to do with Hitler, Fascism and the Nazi regime.
"Regrettable though it may be that anyone should be unaware of so important a part of our own and world history, we do not feel we should therefore find he was not telling the truth about this."
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However, the panel also stated: "All we would say (at the risk of sounding patronising) is that Mr Hennessey would be well advised to familiarise himself with events which continue to have great significance to those who reside in a free country."
In explaining the gesture, the document reveals Hennessey's insistence that he was trying to attract the attention of the waiter taking the photograph, whilst 'cupping his hand around his moth to make his voice carry.'
The panel concludes: "We consider the FA was entirely justified in investigating and bringing this case. As Crystal Palace reminded Mr Hennessey after its own internal investigation, players must not only be aware of the rules but should also realise that, with a high public profile, there is always a danger that words heard or gestures used may be misinterpreted or taken out of context.
"Nevertheless, for the reasons we have given, the majority of this Commission considers it more likely than not that the photograph posted on Mr Meyer's Instagram account has been misinterpreted here. That is why we dismiss the charges."
