Cagliari’s season moved from Bergamo to Milan in the space of a weekend, as Daniel Maldini followed a winning penalty against Atalanta with a road accident that has brought a firm response from club president Tommaso Giulini.
Daniel Maldini accident: Cagliari president addresses Milan incident
SEO Title: Cagliari’s Giulini Addresses Daniel Maldini Milan Accident
SEO Description: Cagliari president Tommaso Giulini comments on Daniel Maldini’s Milan car accident, alcohol-test results, negative drug tests and the player’s return to training.
A difficult turn after a decisive goal
Maldini, who is at Cagliari on loan from Atalanta, had remained in Milan after Saturday’s match in Bergamo. He scored the penalty that gave Cagliari victory over his parent club, but was involved in an accident early the following morning.
- The collision happened at around 5.15am on Sunday in northern Milan.
- Maldini was driving a Porsche Carrera 4 when it struck another vehicle.
- Six people were injured, although none suffered serious injuries.
- Police tests at the scene registered 0.91 mg/l and then 0.89 mg/l, above Italy’s legal limit of 0.5 mg/l.
- His driving licence was withdrawn.
- He was taken to hospital for examinations, discharged later, and returned to Cagliari training on Monday.
Giulini rejects claims over drugs
Speaking in Milan during a Serie A assembly, Giulini criticised reports suggesting that Maldini had tested positive for drugs. The Cagliari president said the club had arranged tests on Monday morning and that every result had been negative.
Giulini said the reports had left the club “astonished and surprised”, adding that he could not understand how such claims had emerged. In his view, he said, references to drugs were appearing more readily in newspapers than in the evidence available to the club.
Maldini, son of former Milan captain Paolo Maldini, also posted the test results on social media on Monday. Giulini said Cagliari accepted the player’s account that he had not used drugs.
A warning from the club president
Giulini nevertheless suggested that Maldini may have consumed “two glasses or three beers”, saying that would be consistent with the alcohol readings. He stressed that such a level was not compatible with driving.
The president said there was little further for the club to add, but made clear the lesson he hoped the player would take from the episode: if he goes out for a drink in future, he should use a taxi or Uber, travel with a sober driver, or walk home.
