Israel Folau social media case has damaged rugby's reputation: RA chairman

[Mighty AU]

The chairman of Rugby Australia says the game has suffered reputational damage from the Israel Folau affair, but had they not axed the player for his controversial social media posts it would have been worse.

Cameron Clyne has been criticised for being silent through the month-long ordeal but has spoken to The Ticket from the sports headquarters in Dublin where the game's powerbrokers are gathered for their 2019 world meeting.

"Yes, the game has suffered reputationally through this, but had we not dealt with this in a clear and decisive way the game would have suffered way more, there is no question of that," he said. 

"We would have suffered tremendous backlash from a lot of people."

A code of conduct tribunal found Folau guilty of a high-level breach after social media posts saying "sinners" — including homosexuals — would go to hell unless they repented.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-24/israel-folau-social-media-posts-damaged-rugby-chairman-says/11148000