|
Israel Folau's epic hearing is finally over, with the three-person independent panel finding him guilty of a high-level breach of the Code of Conduct. Folau's lawyers debated for almost 22 hours over three days with the governing body's legal team, after Rugby Australia issued the Wallabies star with a breach notice following his controversial social media posts last month. "The panel has today provided a judgement that Israel Folau committed a high-level breach of the Professional Players' Code of Conduct with his social media posts on April 10, 2019," a Rugby Australia press release stated. "The panel will now take further written submissions from the parties to consider the matter of sanction." While Folau may yet be spared the sack, termination of his contract is now a possibility. Had the panel deemed Folau's breach of Rugby Australia's players' code of conduct anything less than "high level", the governing body would not have had the power to boot the three-times John Eales Medallist out of the game. Other lesser sanctions the 30-year-old now faces include suspension and/or a fine. The sanction is not expected to be handed down for several days, with RA not offering a timeline on any decision. Folau also has the right of appeal.
|
