Israel Folau payout at risk as Rugby Australia reels from Covid-19 – report

Former Wallabies player Israel Folau’s multi-million payout from Rugby Australia could reportedly take a major hit if the sport’s governing body is forced into insolvency.

The fullback was sacked by RA last year over his homophobic social media posts, including one stating hell awaits homosexuals.

The two parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement in December after Folau sued RA for religious discrimination. While the terms were not made public, it is understood to be around $3m, which is the remainder of his four-year contract.

According to The Australian, the settlement is being paid off in instalments with those payments at risk should RA go under.

Should RA be forced to declare itself insolvent, Folau would become an unsecured creditor and depending on its assets, he would likely be paid out only a few cents in the dollar.

Folau has been playing rugby league with French-based club Catalans Dragons in the Super League, although competition is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreak and the resulting shutdown of the sport has put RA in a precarious financial position, and forced it to make sweeping cuts.

On Sunday, an emergency interim pay deal with the Rugby Union Players’ Association was not reached, but RA insisted progress was made.

An RA statement said talks had been positive and robust, as they sought to reach an agreement on salary cuts. The governing body said both parties had agreed to move negotiations forward and ongoing discussions were scheduled for this week.

RUPA CEO and former Wallabies lock Justin Harrison said on Saturday it might take a week or longer to reach an agreement, given what had transpired in other codes on the same issue.

“Rugby Australia remains focused on securing a fair and reasonable deal with the players that will help protect the long-term future of our game,” CEO Raelene Castle and RA chairman Paul McLean said on Sunday in a statement.

“We also welcome recent comments by World Rugby as it assists all national unions navigate through this very difficult time.”

“The players understand that the burden must be shared by everyone in our game and we will look to reach an agreement which is fair and reasonable given the extraordinary circumstances we are in.”

Last week, some 75% of RA’s non-player workforce were stood down and the governing body announced a $9.4m loss. Castle herself announced she was taking a 50% pay cut and members of the RA executive would sacrifice 30% of their wage.

source: theguardian.com