Cristian Volpato Faces Second Positive Cocaine Test

Cristian Volpato has returned a second positive test for cocaine after a roadside stop on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge in July, placing one of Australian football’s brightest young stars under an uncomfortable spotlight.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed the development on Wednesday, with Football Australia confirming it is seeking independent verification of the result.

Incident Details

NSW Police, contacted by nine.com.au, outlined the sequence of events from the night of July 21.

“He was subjected to a roadside drug test which allegedly returned a positive result for cocaine,” a police statement said. A secondary oral fluid sample was then taken and sent for further analysis. That follow-up test has now also come back positive.

After weeks of inquiries, police moved. On Tuesday, 1 September 2026, a 22-year-old man was issued a Traffic Infringement Notice for “drive motor vehicle with illicit drug present in oral fluid etc” and handed a $722 fine.

Volpato, through his lawyer, is pushing back.

“Our client has never touched cocaine and strenuously denies consuming it ever,” lawyer Paul McGirr told the Herald, adding that an appeal of the fine is under consideration.

The Herald reports Volpato has told people close to him he believes his drink may have been spiked on the night in question.

Additional Issues

This is not the only trouble to come out of that drive across Anzac Bridge.

The same night, the 22-year-old had his international driver’s licence suspended for six months after being clocked at almost 50km/h over the speed limit. He was stopped twice in the same location while driving a BMW across the bridge, telling police he had been at a party in Sydney’s CBD.

The fallout did not delay his return to club football. The day after being charged, Volpato flew back to Italy to rejoin Serie A side Sassuolo.

On the Pitch

On the pitch, his start to the season underlined why Australian football has invested so much hope in him. Volpato scored two goals in Sassuolo’s first five games, only to suffer a hamstring injury over the weekend that has abruptly stalled his momentum.

That setback is set to ripple into the international arena. With the injury and the ongoing off-field process, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is now unlikely to consider him for selection for Australia’s upcoming matches against Brazil in Queensland later this month.

“These young men, things happen and you can get caught for something that we have to look into,” Popovic said on Tuesday. “There is a process that’s playing out at the moment about that, and we need to follow that process.”

It all marks a dramatic turn for a player who only months ago was being hailed as the breakout star of Australia’s World Cup campaign.

Volpato had rejected overtures from Italy to commit his international future to the Socceroos, a decision celebrated as a major coup and a statement about Australia’s ability to keep its top dual-national talent.

Now, as the legal and disciplinary processes unfold and his hamstring heals, the question shifts from which country he will represent to how he responds to the first major crisis of a still-young career.