A rising star of Australia’s men’s national soccer team, the Socceroos, finds himself at the center of a drug and driving scandal following two high-speed traffic stops in central Sydney that ended with an alleged positive cocaine test. Twenty-two-year-old midfielder Cristian Volpato, who recently switched his international football allegiance from Italy to Australia ahead of the latest World Cup, was first pulled over by New South Wales Police on the Anzac Bridge just after 11 p.m. local time this past Thursday.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that Volpato was driving a BMW Coupe through a 60km/h zone at speeds between 86 and 94km/h when he was stopped. A standard roadside breath alcohol test came back negative for the 22-year-old, but officers let him go only to pull him over again less than two hours later in the same speed-restricted zone. This second stop found Volpato allegedly speeding at 109km/h, and a follow-up oral fluid test returned a positive result for the presence of cocaine.
In immediate sanctions issued following the second stop, New South Wales Police issued Volpato a formal speeding infringement notice and suspended his international driver’s license for a six-month period, barring him from operating any vehicle within the state for the duration of the ban. Authorities confirmed they have sent a second oral fluid sample for independent laboratory testing, and that the investigation into the incident remains open as they await the confirmatory test results.
Volpato’s career has made rapid progress in recent years: he came up through Italy’s youth international setup, only committing to represent Australia’s senior national team in May, just weeks before the Socceroos finalized their World Cup squad. He went on to feature in three of Australia’s four matches at the tournament, where the team advanced to the round of 32 before being eliminated by Egypt in a penalty shootout. At club level, Volpato has been a regular fixture for Italy’s top-flight Serie A side Sassuolo since joining the club in 2023. He notched 24 league appearances for the club during the 2024-2025 season, helping the team finish 11th in the league table.
As of the publication of this report, BBC Sport has reached out to both Football Australia, the governing body for soccer in the country, and Sassuolo’s club management to request comment on the allegations against Volpato. Neither organization has issued a public response at this time.