Update Flag dispute as Israel Folau scores on Catalans Dragons debut
London: Israel Folau’s return to rugby began with a try-scoring debut for Catalans Dragons.
The Australian scored with his first touch and had French supporters on their feet every time he had possession in his side’s 36-18 defeat of Castleford, but there was no escape from controversy as there were reports a visiting fan was prevented from flying a rainbow flag.
Alison Grey, a Castleford fan, posted on social media during the game that she was asked to take down a flag she had displayed in support of LGBTQ rights. She later said in a television interview: “We were asked if we could take the flag down, first because it was against health and safety. When we said that there were other flags around the ground they gave up.
“They then came back to us later on and said it was against the views of the club to have the flags.”
Catalans issued a statement saying this was not club policy and they would look into the matter. It read: “Rainbow flags are not banned at our club. It is not forbidden. We are gathering more information about what happened.”
Catalans’ coach, Steve McNamara, would not be drawn on the matter in his post-match press conference.
The former England coach said: “I am here to talk about rugby league. That is what I know, that is what I do, not any of the other stuff.”
A statement from Super League said: “Everyone should have the right to respectfully express their views. We are investigating. We will receive a full report by the end of this weekend and have more details by Monday.”
The 30-year-old Folau’s religious views on homosexuality led to him being banned from rugby union in Australia but he made an immediate impact as he sought to restart his playing career in Super League. Ten years after his league career began down under he returned as if he had never been away. “That’s what we want from Israel, nothing else,” said McNamara. “We have signed a very talented player and he showed that today. Everybody deserves a second chance. “There has been a lot of media attention on the club this week and I am pleased with the way the players went about their job. I hope we can move on now and just concentrate on the rugby league.
“The plan all along was to get him on the field and play the game. We’ll look at the way we deal with all the other issues later. When I sign a player I judge him on his playing abilities, not on his religious or political beliefs.”