Former A-League player Kerem Bulut always wants more.
More action, more excitement, more adrenaline and more fries.
And more chances to be inducted into The Fronwlow Medal Hall of Fame.
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.
Bulut received his first Frownlow nomination for a variety of offences, and his second for demanding more fries.
The former Western Sydney Wanderers player was charged with intimidation in 2021 at Auburn McDonald’s in Sydney’s west. Sources claim Bulut and his friends argued with a staff member after Bulut tried to order more fries before the staff member could attempt to upsize him. The argument attracted police and Bulut was eventually granted conditional bail.
McDonald’s was a sponsor of the Wanderers at the time.
Bulut earned his first Frownlow nomination 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. It’s also not known whether the alleged victim was eating, or in possession of, fries at the time.
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.
While surrounding himself in controversy, the national junior representative also surrounded himself in glory. He scored seven goals in six games to win the Golden Boot at the 2010 AFC U/19 Championships, and he played for Australia at the 2011 FIFA U/20 World Cup. Unfortunately, his love of French Fries and his friends destroyed his international football career. He and other members of the Muslim Brotherhood Militants clashed with the police as far back as 2010, when Bulut was arrested for alleged offences including malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm; robbery in company; participate in criminal group; assist criminal activity, affray and intimidation of court witnesses.
Police alleged the victims were attacked with knives in a carpark in Auburn and suffered wounds to the head, torso and leg, and that this attack was part of an ongoing feud involving incidents in the Sydney CBD and Bondi Beach. The police case against Bulut was ultimately withdrawn as the witnesses were unwilling to give evidence in court. Seems like Bulut got his fries after all.
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 