Rugby Australia has officially issued Israel Folau with a notice of termination following his controversial social media post last week.

The 30-year-old Christian shared a graphic on Instagram that stated that ‘hell awaits’ homosexuals and those guilty of other ‘sins’.

 

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Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent. Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him. _______________ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these , adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19‭-‬21 KJV _______________ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38 KJV _______________ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 17:30 KJV _______________

A post shared by Israel Folau (@izzyfolau) on Apr 10, 2019 at 1:18am PDT

Folau has 48 hours to respond to accept Rugby Australia’s sanction, or have the matter referred to code of conduct hearing.

‘At its core, this is an issue of the responsibilities an employee owes to their employer, and the commitments they make to their employer to abide by their employer’s policies and procedures and adhere to their employer’s values,’ Rugby Australia said in a statement.

‘Following the events of last year, Israel was warned formally and repeatedly about the expectations of him as player for the Wallabies and NSW Waratahs with regard to social media use, and he has failed to meet those obligations. It was made clear to him that any social media posts or commentary that is in any way disrespectful to people because of their sexuality will result in disciplinary action.

‘All professional rugby players in Australia are bound by the code of conduct, and there is a process in place for any disciplinary matter. We appreciate that this particular matter will attract significant interest, but due process must be followed.’

On Sunday, Folau spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald at his Sydney church and said he did not regret his post.

‘Absolutely not. I’ll stand on what the Bible says.

‘I share it with love. I can see the other side of the coin where people’s reactions are the total opposite to how I’m sharing it.

‘But in Ezekiel, chapter 33, verse 11, it says that “God has no pleasure in the person that’s living in sin …” He’s a loving God and he wants people to turn away from what they’re living in and he’ll give them life.’

Folau said he would ‘absolutely’ be content with a life away from rugby, although he admitted he would miss it.

‘First and foremost, I live for God now. Whatever He wants me to do, I believe His plans for me are better than whatever I can think. If that’s not to continue on playing, so be it.

‘In saying that, obviously I love playing footy, and if it goes down that path I’ll definitely miss it. But my faith in Jesus Christ is what comes first.’