Folau’s rugby career in Australia is officially over – for now at least, with Rugby Australia announcing they have formally sacked controversial Wallabies player Israel Folau following his refusal to apologise or even remove his anti-gay Instagram post.
An independent three-person panel on Friday found that his posts saying gay people would go to hell warranted his sacking.
Rugby Australia issues a statement explaining their decision, which was followed by some comments from the organisation’s chief executive Raelene Castle who called the decision “painful.”
“Rugby Australia did not choose to be in this situation, but Rugby Australia’s position remains that Israel, through his actions, left us with no choice but to pursue this course of action.”
“This has been an extremely challenging period for rugby, and this issue has created an unwanted distraction in an important year for the sport and for the Wallabies team.
The ordeal may not yet be over, however with Folau being given 72 hours to appeal the decision.
