Midfielder Cristian Volpato, who played for Australia at the World Cup, allegedly tested positive for cocaine after being stopped for speeding twice in Sydney, according to multiple media reports.
Volpato, 22, is a dual citizen of Italy and Australia who switched allegiances to the Socceroos just before this year’s World Cup. He first was stopped for speeding at approximately 11:05 p.m. local time on Thursday on the Anzac Bridge in Sydney, per a statement by the New South Wales (NSW) police.
A roadside breath test on Volpato came back negative, and he was issued an infringement notice for driving more than 20km/h (12.4 mph) over the speed limit.
Just over two hours later, Volpato was stopped again on the same bridge, with the police allegedly clocking him at 50km (30 miles) an hour over the designated speed limit.
In the second incident, another roadside breath test allegedly returned a positive result for cocaine, with a secondary sample of oral fluid taken for further analysis.
Volpato also was given a second infringement notice for excess speed and had his international driver’s license suspended for six months, per the NSW police.
The NSW police said their inquiries will continue.
“Football Australia is aware of allegations involving one of our players,” the Australian soccer federation said in a statement. “We have been in contact with the player and continue to monitor the matter and support the player throughout this process.”
Volpato was born in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
Having played for Italy’s junior national teams since 2022, Volpato changed his national eligibility to Australia in May before the 2026 FIFA World Cup teams were revealed. Per FIFA rules, the switch was legal because Volpato never played a competitive match for Italy’s senior team.
Volpato had four shots in three appearances for the Socceroos in this year’s World Cup.
Australia was competing in their sixth straight World Cup. After reaching the Round of 16 in 2022 for the second time in their history, Australia were eliminated on penalties by Egypt in the round of 32 this time around.
–Field Level Media
