Former A-League player Kerem Bulut can now attend the Frownlow awards night later this year after being released from prison.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Jarryd Hayne is the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
The ex-Wanderers player has been nominated for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after being charged with assault, larceny and drug offences. He spent seven months in prison while awaiting trial for the for alleged assault of a man early in 2021. He was granted bail and forced to attend a drug rehabilitation program, as well as being told to report to police daily, avoid consuming drugs and alcohol, and to avoid any contact with the alleged victim.
The allegations stem from an alleged altercation with a man known to Bulut, who claims the former Young Socceroo assaulted him in an apartment in Sydney due to a dispute over $500. It is alleged that Bulut snatched the money from the man, and that seven months later the man demanded the money back, prompting the alleged assault.
It’s certainly a strange incident, but not the strangest incident which has resulted in a Fronwlow nomination.
The courts will also determine whether Bulut is guilty of assaulting a cellmate at Silverwater Prison while on remand in March 2021. The alleged victim was taken to hospital with a broken eye socket and bruising to his head.
Strengthening Bulut’s bid for induction into The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame is the four year ban he received from Turkish football after testing positive for cocaine while playing for Menemen Belediye in 2018.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 