Land Rover takes back Israel Folau’s new car after gay backlash
ISRAEL Folau has had his sponsored car confiscated by Land Rover following his controversial comments regarding the gay community ... lucky he’s still got his $500,000 Lamborghini.
Waratahs
Don't miss out on the headlines from Waratahs. Followed categories will be added to My News.
ISRAEL Folau has had his sponsored car confiscated by Land Rover following his controversial comments regarding the gay community.
The luxury car company, which signed an $850,000-a-year deal with Rugby Australia in February replacing BMW as the Wallabies’ car sponsor, had given Folau a brand-new car.
But after Folau wrote on Instagram that gays were destined for hell, Land Rover repossessed the car.
Land Rover said Folau was never an official ambassador.
However, the Daily Telegraph has confirmed through other sources that they did indeed take back a car given to Folau.
Folau posted the remark on Monday, April 2, after which Land Rover said his views did not align with theirs.
By Monday, April 9, they’d repossessed his vehicle.
With great love i wanted to share this video in the hope that people watch it and think about it. Jesus is coming back soon and he wants us to turn to him through repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38) please don't harden your heart https://t.co/PtDoPCQDco
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) May 7, 2018
The Lord is giving you time to come to him whilst you're still alive. He stands and waits
— Israel Folau (@IzzyFolau) May 14, 2018
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance pic.twitter.com/jHMFADOKTT
Looking forward to being part of the #LandRoverRugby family. @LandRoverAus pic.twitter.com/WEh3jw4b1q
— Kurtley Beale (@kurtley_beale) April 22, 2018
But Folau still gets around in style in his $500,000 Lamborghini, purchased with his own money last year.
Land Rover’s withdrawal of the car is the first financial hit Folau has taken for his fundamental Christian stance.
The 29-year-old Wallabies and Waratahs fullback followed up his initial comment with a video on Twitter warning that tolerance of homosexuality would be punished by God, but Rugby Australia has not sanctioned him due to the complex moral issues around free speech.
While RA disagrees with Folau, chief executive Raelene Castle said they also must respect his right to express his religious beliefs, adding that penalising him would alienate a large section of their Christian supporter base.
SUPPORT: Cheika stands by Israel Folau
Meanwhile, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika gave a strong indication yesterday that Folau would refrain from posting further inflammatory content for the sake of his teammates as they prepare for the three-Test June series against Ireland.
“What’s happened has happened, it’s been dealt with now and it’s not going to be ongoing, so it’s not going to be an issue,” Cheika told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“There’s been a lot of conjecture on this on this from all different sides, left wing, right wing and all that type of stuff. But we need to be focusing on the footy, and getting ourselves clear on a big series against the northern hemisphere champions.
“I’m going to be reminding guys what the team is about, what it means to be part of the team and then guys make their decisions from there.
“He understands that he doesn’t want to affect the team around those sort of things. And like I said, if it’s not ongoing then it’s not going to be an issue.”
“Izzy wants to be part of the team, not just now but in the future as well. Some people think he’s using it as some kind of tactic to get out of playing but if he wanted to go, he could go easily. He wants to play rugby.”
Watch the 2018 Super Rugby Season on FOX SPORTS. SIGN UP NOW >