Rugby Australia have confirmed they are preparing to rip up the contract of controversial full-back Israel Folau.
The Waratahs player made headlines yet again this week, when he shared an Instagram meme which claimed that "hell awaits" homosexuals.
Folau had previously been warned for homophobic social media comments in 2018, and despite agreeing a new four year multi-million dollar contract with Rugby Australia just two months ago, the national governing body say they intent to terminate the deal.
In a statement, Rugby Australia said:
"Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Rugby Union have made repeated attempts to contact Israel both directly and via his representatives since 6.30pm on Wednesday, and at this point he has failed to communicate directly with either organisation.
Here's #OTBAM with @neil_treacy reacting to the news that the Wallabies and Waratahs plan to sack Israel Folau following homophobic comments.https://t.co/z21Edtinq1
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 11, 2019
"Whilst Israel is entitled to his religious beliefs, the way in which he has expressed these beliefs is inconsistent with the values of the sport. We want to make it clear that he does not speak for the game with his recent social media posts.
"Israel has failed to understand that the expectation of him as a Rugby Australia and NSW Waratahs employee is that he cannot share material on social media that condemns, vilifies or discriminates against people on the basis of their sexuality.
"Rugby is a sport that continuously works to unite people. We want everyone to feel safe and welcome in our game and no vilification based on race, gender, religion or sexuality is acceptable and no language that isolates, divides or insults people based on any of those factors can be tolerated."
In Folau's most recent post, he said: "Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent", including a meme which stated Hell would await homosexuals.
Rugby Australia added that they would be sacking Folau for the comments, unless "compelling mitigating factors" can be proven.
