Face of Nation : The former Wallabies player wants $10 million in damages and his contract reinstated after he was sacked for a social media post in April about people who will go to hell unless they repent for their sins. Israel Folau has reactivated his Twitter and Instagram accounts shortly after removing them, a day before his legal stoush against Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs gets underway in Melbourne.
The committed Christian says he was dismissed on religious grounds over his April Instagram post, in which he paraphrased a Bible passage stating that “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters” were destined for hell.
A spokesperson for Folau and the law firm representing him, Macpherson Kelley, were contacted on Monday afternoon after Folau deleted his social media accounts. Lawyers for Folau, Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs will appear at the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne for a directions hearing before Chief Judge Will Alstergren on Tuesday.
The matter will be video-linked live to Sydney. More than 20,000 people have donated about $2.2 million to help fund Folau’s legal fight through a campaign page set up by the Australian Christian Lobby.
