Israel Folau’s future in Australian rugby is looking increasingly grim after a independent panel determined that the Wallabies superstar committed a “high level” breach of his contract.
The three-person panel of chair John West QC, Rugby Australia representative Kate Eastman SC and the RUPA-appointed John Boultbee have now retired to decide on a sanction for Folau.
RA boss Raelene Castle issued Folau with a breach notice last month following his controversial social media posts about homosexuals and other sinners and threatened to terminate his four-year, $4 million contract, an option the panel now has.
The 30-year-old Folau appeared before the hearing to contest Rugby Australia’s decision to terminate his contract after he posted in mid-April on social media that gay people, along with other “sinners,” will face damnation unless they repent.
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