Rugby Australia, Folau to meet over gay comment

Israel Folau appears to be positioning himself as persecuted in the debate around the views he expressed on gay people, before a meeting with rugby union bosses.

The Wallabies superstar has tweeted a Bible verse seemingly alluding to being persecuted for his Christian views. Folau caused an uproar when he said gay people were destined for hell ‘‘unless they repent of their sins and turn to God’’.

Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle and the NSW Waratahs chief Andrew Hore are set to meet Folau today over his use of social media, after the now-deleted comment, which contrasts to the pro-same-sex marriage position of the organisation’s major sponsor Qantas.

A devout Christian, Folau a posted to Twitter late on Sunday the Matthew 5 verse stating, ‘‘blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.’’

Castle last week said RA were treating the matter seriously.

‘‘Israel’s comment reflects his personal religious beliefs, however it does not represent the view of Rugby Australia or NSW Rugby,’’ Castle said.

‘‘We are aligned in our view that rugby is a game for all, regardless of sexuality, race, religion or gender, which is clearly articulated in rugby’s inclusion policy.

‘‘We understand that Israel’s comment has upset a number of people and we will discuss the matter with him as soon as possible.’’