Has one of the Bachelors been busted over-inflating his resume?

Bachelorette contestant apparently said he was a Socceroo. And an Olympian.

But, er, it seems like he wasn’t either of those things.

Bachelorette contestant Michael Turnbull was working hard to fulfill his ‘athletic guy’ brief on last night’s premiere of The Bachelorette. “The highlight of my career was playing for Australia and the Socceroos and also the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000,” he told Sam as part of his pitch to the Bachelorette. Only, according the The Brisbane Times, that’s not exactly true.

While Turnbull was a professional footballer, his credentials aren’t quite as he would have Sam believe, and football aficionados of Twitter were quick to pick up on the recently-retired goalkeeper’s embellishment.

Turnbull socceroos……..??? Bbbbrrrrr!!!!

— Jade North (@jadesta36) September 23, 2015

Turnbull: “my career highlight was playing for the Socceroos and in the Olympics” both of which never happened #bacheloretteau

— Dale Roots (@dale_roots) September 23, 2015

According to sporting experts, Turnbull began climbing the ranks of Australian football at Marconi before the old National Soccer League folded.

However, since its disbanding in 2004, he played just six games of high level professional football. The good word is that Turnbull never played for the Socceroos. He never played at the Sydney Olympics either: He was a substitute, but remained unused for all three games.

He did represent Australia at a youth level on three occasions, though. So that’s still impressive, right?

Turnbull was in last season’s Melbourne Victory squad. He signed on as a finals injury replacement. He didn’t play, but was front and centre as Victory celebrated their grand final win.

Despite his apparent inflations, Turnbull has had a successful career, playing for Belgium’s Standard Liège, Bristol City, The New Zealand Knights and the Brisbane Strikers.

Turnbull spoke to News.com.au about the difficulties of opening up so quickly, and on national television. “It’s very, very hard opening up and talking to a complete stranger about who you are and what you’re looking for, that’s really private stuff,” he said. “You’d normally talk about that five or six months into a relationship, not with someone you’ve just met. That’s the challenge and the fact that you’ve got 13 other guys looking over your shoulder doesn’t make it any easier.”

So maybe it was nerves that got the better of him (and his honesty)?

“It’s an amazing experience and when you get to meet someone like Sam it makes it even better. Sam and myself were there for the right reasons and when you’re on the same page it just works. It was a really incredible experience.”

Poor bloke. He’s just trying to impress an impressive lady. He would probably have got away with it in a bar. It’s just a bit unlucky that he tried it on national telly.

In any case, the Socceroos have responded to his claims with a lovely message of support.

In a Facebook status, the Socceroos wrote: “He might not be a Socceroo, but Michael Turnbull IS an Olympian having been part of the squad for Sydney 2000, and has more than 100 appearances across all national leagues to his name. We’re wishing the goalkeeper all the best on The Bachelorette Australia!”

This was then followed up with a tweet of support.

Hey Michael, if you miss out on Sam’s heart, maybe it’s your chance to train up and try out for the Socceroos? We’re sure they’d love to have you.

Missed Rosie’s Recap of the Bachelorette Ep 1? You can find it here.