Cristian Volpato’s Second Test Confirms Cocaine Use

Cristian Volpato’s insistence that he was the victim of a false positive roadside drug test has been rocked by the result of a second sample, which has again come back positive for cocaine.

The Socceroos midfielder, one of Australia’s breakout performers at this year’s World Cup, had repeatedly denied taking the drug after he was pulled over for speeding on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge in late July and returned a positive roadside result.

That stance now sits under intense pressure.

NSW Police confirmed a secondary sample of Volpato’s oral fluid, taken for laboratory analysis last week, also showed the presence of cocaine. Police said in a statement the 22-year-old had been issued a traffic infringement notice and fined $722.

His licence is already gone. Volpato has lost his international driver’s licence for six months after being clocked in a BMW at almost 50km/h over the speed limit – at the same location where he had been fined for speeding just two hours earlier – on the eve of the Italian Serie A season.

From Sydney Drama to Serie A Form

The morning after the incident, Volpato flew back to Italy and rejoined Sassuolo. On the pitch, he has tried to let his football speak, scoring twice in the club’s first five league matches and forcing his way into the early-season narrative.

That momentum stalled at the weekend. Volpato limped off with a hamstring injury in the 38th minute of Sassuolo’s 2-2 draw with Bologna, an untimely setback that is expected to rule him out of Australia’s friendlies against Brazil in Queensland later this month.

For Tony Popovic and Football Australia, the injury delays a thorny question. With Volpato sidelined, they avoid an immediate decision on whether to select a player now facing a confirmed positive oral drug test.

Legal Fight Looming

Volpato’s camp is not backing down.

His lawyer, Paul McGirr, said the 22-year-old is considering appealing the fine and the findings.

“Our client has never touched cocaine and strenuously denies consuming it ever,” McGirr said.

He pointed to steps taken immediately after the traffic stop, when Volpato went to a medical facility and submitted to a voluntary urinalysis.

According to McGirr, that test showed no traces of cocaine, any other drug, or alcohol in Volpato’s system. An appeal, he said, would probe possible contamination and the techniques used to collect the roadside oral sample.

“We want to look at how it was done,” he said.

Inside Volpato’s Defence

Privately, Volpato initially told family and friends he believed his drink had been spiked while celebrating a friend’s birthday in Sydney’s CBD on July 21.

Sassuolo then moved to protect their asset. In a statement released days after the first positive result became public, the club said Volpato had undergone further urine and blood tests upon returning to Italy, and that those tests had come back negative.

That does not end the debate. Cocaine can clear the body and become undetectable in urine and blood within a few days, and the club did not specify exactly when their tests were carried out relative to the Sydney incident.

Governing Bodies Wait

Football Australia confirmed it had been made aware of the reported secondary oral test result.

“We are currently seeking independent verification,” it said in a statement.

Popovic, speaking on Tuesday before news of the second positive sample emerged, chose his words carefully when asked whether Volpato had breached team standards.

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

For now, the process rolls on without the complication of a Brazil tour call-up. The legal challenge, the police findings, and the governing body’s response will shape what comes next.

The bigger question sits just beyond all of that: when the dust finally settles, will Cristian Volpato still be seen as the future of the Socceroos, or as the cautionary tale of a career that veered off course before it truly began?