Israel Folau has taken a significant step to restarting his rugby league career in Australia after his Super League club agreed to release him this morning.
In May, the controversial dual-code international attempted to make a return on the Gold Coast with the Southport Tigers but was denied by Queensland Rugby League due to his existing contract with the Catalans Dragons.
QRL’s stance saw the 32-year-old threaten legal action initially before opting to negotiate with Catalans last week.
Catalans said in a statement this morning they had come to a settlement yesterday.
"Catalans Dragons can confirm Israel Folau will be released from the remainder of his contract with immediate effect," a club statement read.
Folau, who was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 over a social media post in which he said homosexuals, among other groups were headed to “hell” unless they repented for their sins, was thrown a lifeline by the French club before the 2020 season, despite plenty of opposition.
He played in 15 out of a possible 17 matches last season and agreed a contract extension to the end of 2021 but the Dragons gave him permission to miss the start of this season in order to attend to pressing family matters in Australia.
While back in Australia, Folau was courted by St George Illawarra before they pulled out due to heavy backlash from the NRL, leading to his most recent attempt to make a comeback with Southport, where his brothers play.
The controversial code-hopper was grilled over his beliefs as he announced his return to Australian sport. (Source: Other)
"Israel has been great with us in 2020, both on and off the field, and we wanted to facilitate the negotiations to reach an agreement," Catalans chairman Bernard Guasch said.
"He told us his desire to play alongside his two brothers and we didn't want to prevent him."
With Catalans’ release, the QRL should likely review Folau’s status based on their statement in May.
“On receipt of international clearance, Folau will be granted permission to register for the Southport Tigers at a community rugby league level and no higher, as per the registration request that has been made,” QRL said at the time.
His return will come with an asterisk though.
“The QRL acknowledge that previous social media comments made by Folau, whilst not a registered participant in rugby league at the time, do not align to the beliefs of the game, or the QRL,” the organisation said.
“Any registration is subject to Folau confirming he has read and understood his obligations as a player under the QRL Rules, the QRL Code of Conduct and the Community Rugby League Terms and Conditions NRL Registration.”
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