Rugby Australia's major sponsor unhappy with Folau

Rugby Australia’s major sponsor has voiced their disapproval of Israel Folau’s stance on gay beliefs.

Wallaby fullback Israel Folau sparked a firestorm of negative feedback after he commented on social media saying gay people were headed to “HELL…Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God’ in response to a user on the platform.

Qantas is a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage in Australia and the major sponsor of the Wallabies. A spokesperson told foxsports.com.au that “as a sponsor of Rugby Australia, we’re supportive of their approach towards tolerance and inclusion, which aligns with our own. “We’ve made it clear to Rugby Australia that we find the comments very disappointing.”

Rugby Australia responded on Thursday that “Folau’s personal beliefs do not reflect the views of Rugby Australia”.

“Rugby supports all forms of inclusion, whether its sexuality, race, or gender, which is set out in our Inclusion Policy (2014),” Rugby Australia said in a statement.

Former Welsh international Gareth Thomas, the first openly gay professional rugby player, took a swing at Folau on Twitter following the controversial comments.