One of the World Cup’s breakout stars was caught by police allegedly on drugs and speeding after already being stopped in his BMW
A World Cup star has allegedly tested positive for cocaine after being stopped by police while driving at almost twice the speed limit.
Cristian Volpato, of Serie A side Sassuolo, was one of Australia’s breakout stars of the World Cup. But the 22-year-old is said to have been caught driving a BMW Coupe at 109km/h (roughly 68mph) in a 60km/h (approximately 37mph) zone in Sydney.
The attacking midfielder and winger was stopped on Anzac Bridge at around 1.10am on Friday and asked to take a roadside drug test, which allegedly returned a positive result for cocaine. New South Wales police confirmed they will continue investigating after taking a secondary sample of oral fluid for further analysis.
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Volpato was reportedly issued an infringement notice for speeding and had his international driver’s licence suspended for six months, meaning he cannot drive in New South Wales. He has not been charged with a criminal offence.
Police allege the former Roma ace was also stopped two hours earlier on Anzac Bridge, west of Sydney’s central business district, and issued an infringement notice after allegedly driving more than 20km/h (around 20mph) over the speed limit.
It’s reported he was also subjected to a roadside alcohol breath test following that incident, at around 11.05pm on Thursday, which returned a negative result.
Volpato like his parents was born in Australia but is of Italian descent, with Italian-born grandparents on both sides. He played for Sydney United, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers at academy level before moving to Italy to join Roma’s youth set-up.
He made 14 senior appearances for the Italian giants, scoring twice, before a £6.4m move to Sassulo. He has seven goals in 72 games for the Neroverdi.
Volpato represented Italy at at under-19 and under-20 level before switching his international allegiance to Australia on the eve of the World Cup.