Cristian Volpato's Second Test Confirms Cocaine Presence

Cristian Volpato’s bid to paint his roadside drug bust as a mistake has been dealt a heavy blow, with a secondary sample confirming the presence of cocaine in his system.

For weeks, the Socceroos midfielder and those around him insisted the original roadside result was wrong. They argued the test must have thrown up a false positive when he was pulled over on Anzac Bridge in late July.

That position is now under severe strain.

NSW Police have confirmed that a second oral fluid sample, taken for laboratory analysis last week, has also come back positive for cocaine. Volpato has been issued a traffic infringement notice and fined $722.

Speeding, suspension and a second strike

The 22-year-old’s problems began on the eve of the Italian Serie A season, when he was clocked driving a BMW at almost 50km/h over the speed limit on Anzac Bridge.

It wasn’t his first brush with the radar that night. Police had already fined him for speeding at the same location two hours earlier.

This time, he not only lost his licence – his international driving privileges have been suspended for six months – but also returned a positive roadside drug test. He denied taking cocaine.

The counter-narrative came quickly. Volpato told family and friends he believed his drink had been spiked while celebrating a friend’s birthday in Sydney’s CBD on July 21. His camp pointed to clean tests taken afterwards as proof.

But the lab result from the secondary oral sample has shifted the landscape.

Club form, fresh injury, and an awkward reprieve

Volpato flew back to Italy the day after the incident and rejoined Sassuolo. On the pitch, he responded in the way footballers often do when chaos swirls around them – by playing.

He has scored twice in the club’s first five matches of the Serie A campaign, a bright start that underlined why he was one of Australia’s breakout performers at this year’s World Cup.

Then another twist.

At the weekend, in Sassuolo’s 2-2 draw with Bologna, Volpato limped off in the 38th minute with a hamstring injury. The setback is expected to rule him out of Australia’s high-profile friendlies against Brazil in Queensland later this month.

For coach Tony Popovic and Football Australia, the timing is brutal but convenient. With Volpato sidelined, they are spared – for now – from making a thorny selection call while the legal and disciplinary picture remains blurred.

“We need to follow that process”

Before news of the second positive sample became public, Popovic was already treading carefully when asked if 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 on Tuesday. “There is a process that’s playing out at the moment about that, and we need to follow that process.”

Football Australia has confirmed it is aware of the reported secondary oral test result and is seeking independent verification. Any move to sanction or stand down the midfielder will hinge on that confirmation and on how the legal challenge unfolds.

The legal fight: contamination and procedure

Volpato’s lawyer, Paul McGirr, insists his client has never used cocaine and is weighing up an appeal against the fine.

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

He pointed to a voluntary urinalysis Volpato undertook immediately after the incident at a medical facility, which, he said, showed no trace of cocaine, other drugs or alcohol.

An appeal would drill into what McGirr argues are potential issues with contamination and the way the roadside sample was taken.

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

The science complicates the picture. Cocaine can clear from blood and urine within a few days, making it possible for later tests to return negative results even if an earlier oral sample detects the drug. Sassuolo, in a statement issued days after the initial positive result, said Volpato had undergone further urine and blood tests on his return to Italy, all of which were negative. The club did not specify when those tests were conducted.

What happens next?

The saga now sits at the uncomfortable intersection of law, science and football politics.

Police have their second positive oral test and have already imposed a fine and licence suspension. Volpato has his clean urine and blood results, his insistence of innocence, and a legal team ready to challenge the process.

Sassuolo must decide how closely to align with their player’s defence as the case unfolds. Football Australia and Popovic, meanwhile, watch from a distance, shielded for the moment by a hamstring strain but edging towards a decision that will say plenty about where the line is drawn for one of the national team’s brightest young talents.

For a 22-year-old who lit up the World Cup and seemed to have the football world opening in front of him, the next few months may define far more than his place in Australia’s starting XI.