Adriano refuses breathalyzer test while driving

Published Feb. 9, 2011 3:04 p.m. ET

foxsports

Roma striker Adriano had his driver's license suspended after refusing to take a breathalyzer test in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian police said Wednesday.

Adriano was allowed by law to refuse the breathalyzer test but by doing so his license was automatically suspended for five days and he will have to pay a fine of $574.

Adriano told police officers he had been drinking but was not drunk, police Major Marco Andrade told The Associated Press.

Andrade dismissed local media reports that Adriano displayed signs of drunkenness when he his Porsche Cayenne was stopped in Rio's west side at about 1 a.m. local time.

''He said he drank earlier, but there were no signs he was drunk,'' Andrade said. ''The officers found no reason to detain him.''

One of the three friends who were with Adriano took him home after he was released by authorities.

Adriano will go on trial because of his refusal to take the breathalyzer test and can still be found guilty of drunk driving.

The striker, a member of Brazil's 2006 World Cup team, is in Rio to treat a right shoulder injury sustained in a match against Lazio in the Italian league last month.

It is not the first time the 28-year-old Adriano has made headlines for off-field problems.

In recent years, he has been involved in minor car accidents, a public altercation with a girlfriend and even a police investigation for alleged ties with drug lords in the shantytowns where he grew up - although he was not charged with any offense.

He quit Inter Milan in 2009, saying he was not happy in Italy and wanted to be closer to his friends, then signed with popular Brazilian club Flamengo, which he helped win the national title the same year.

He missed several practices with Flamengo, prompting a team director to publicly say that the striker had a drinking problem.

Brazilian media on Monday published photos of Adriano drinking what appeared to be beer at a restaurant just hours after he arrived from Italy.

The AP was not able to contact either Adriano or his agent.