Israel Folau launches GoFundMe page to pay legal bills

Israel Folau's GoFundMe page to pay for his legal battle with Rugby Australia has struggled to gather momentum as the former Wallaby looks to recoup his earnings following his dismissal in April.

Folau had his $5 million contract with Rugby Australia revoked last month after he refused to remove a social media post that warned drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters that they were destined to go to hell unless they repented. The 30-year-old is now seeking up to $10 million in damages from Rugby Australia and has filed a case with the the Fair Work Commission to compensate his losses in earnings with the commission urging both sides to sit down and meet face-to-face to try and settle their differences before they engage in a legal battle. To pay for his costs, Folau has set up a GoFundMe page with the former NSW Waratah pleading with the public to help foot his legal bill. A description on the page reads:

"I believe the termination of my contract is unlawful, which is why I have started legal proceedings against Rugby Australia and Rugby NSW. "In response, Rugby Australia have already said that they will “divert significant resources” to fight me in court. Even if I win, Rugby Australia can appeal. There is every chance that a prominent test case like this could take years and eventually end up in the High Court of Australia. "My wife Maria and I have already spent over $100,000 of our own money, and that was just to try and deal with Rugby Australia’s internal tribunal processes. The money I am asking for is solely to fund the rest of my action in court. "I know I am putting myself on the line - this action will be very costly in terms of time, money and reputation - but I do not intend to stop now."

Folau's plea has struggled with the page raising just over $750 at the time of writing (over $2.99 million short of it's intended target of $3 million) after it was launched on Tuesday. The devout Christian recently caused more uproar when he visited The Truth of Jesus Christ Church in Kenthurst, Sydney, to deliver a sermon in which he questioned sex changes and the influence of the LGBT community.

“The work of the sin, homosexuality, is in disguise to try and take over within this world," said Folau. "You see a lot of it in today’s youths and everything. They are allowing young kids in primary school to be able to have the permission to change their gender if they want, by taking away the permission of their parents. “Now they are trying to take control as a government to make those decisions for young kids, who are basically 16 years old or younger. They don’t even know what they are doing. “This is what the devil is trying to do, to instil into this government, into this world, into society, and it is slowly happening. “The sad thing is why a lot of people out there that are non-Christians say bad things about the church, is because a lot of the churches allow those things to happen. “They say that a man and a man should be able to be married and there is nothing wrong with it. This buys into the theme of pleasing man rather than pleasing God and standing up for the truth.”