‘You give me strength’: Folau thanks donors for $600k fund haul

As donations sail past $600k for Israel Folau, legal doubts have been raised about how the money can be used.

Israel Folau has raised several hundred thousand dollars via a GoFundMe page. Picture: Supplied

Israel Folau has thanked supporters for donating more than $600,000 in just three days to his legal fight against Rugby Australia, as it’s revealed members of the Australian Christian Lobby are among those opening their wallets for the sacked Wallaby.

Folau yesterday doubled down on his intention to use the funds despite a public outcry and criticism from RA that the GoFundMe platform was a place to help sick children, not multimillionaire sportsmen.

Folau was a surprise guest at the ACL fundraising dinner in Melbourne last week, and also met witht the organisations’ managing director Martyn Iles, who presented him with a book containing 46,000 signatures from ACL members who are supporting his legal fight, T he Sunday Telegraph reports.

So far 8000 people have donated to Folau’s campaign via GoFundMe. But doubts have been raised about the use of donations to pick up his legal tab.

Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses SC told The Weekend Australian said crowd-funding opened a “veritable can of worms” for the legal profession and the courts.

“If the case is dismissed or the litigation fails, this money would be used to pay legal expenses of the opposing side,” Mr Moses said.

“Furthermore, if a lawyer for a litigant is paid using proceeds of a crowd-funding campaign, this may expose a lawyer to a claim brought by personswho had contributed to the crowd-funding.”

Mr Moses said it also raised questions about what would occur with the remaining funds if not all the money was used.

“Is it returned to those who donated or to the person who collected the funds?”

Hard line Christian Folau had his $4 million Rugby Australia contract terminated in May after a social media post citing the Bible was deemed homophobic. It followed a similar incident last year.

MORE: Folau’s $5m property portfolio

The former NRL, AFL and rugby star received more than $615,000 in donations of a $3 million target to his online fundraising page as of 9am on Sunday. In just three days, nearly 8000 people have donated to help support the former player’s legal stoush against RA.

Folau is requesting donations despite a reported multimillion-dollar property portfolio and the recent sale of a $500,000 Lamborghini.

He thanked donors on Saturday and said he was “unsurprised” by criticism from RA and media personalities regarding his decision to establish the Go Fund Me page.

“The money that is donated will be used to fund my legal battle, which could take years. While the attacks against me have shown I have a big fight on my hands, I will stand strong,” Folau wrote on social media.

“Your support and my faith in Jesus Christ will give me strength.” In his initial plea for donations, Folau said he had “the fight of my life on my hands”. He has launched legal proceedings with the Fair Work Commission against RA and is seeking up to $10 million in damages.

The case could be a landmark test of religious freedoms in Australia. RA were less than impressed by Folau’s attempt to solicit donations online. “From our perspective (Go Fund Me) is a place where sick children get support, so it’s certainly not a strategy we think is appropriate,” Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle told Nine News on Friday.

Former Wallabies teammate Drew Mitchell also slammed Folau’s decision, saying there were others more deserving of donations.

YOU are in a fight that YOU chose to be in after YOU broke the terms of YOUR contract, the kids below are in a fight they NEVER wanted to be in & yet YOU think YOU deserve donations more than they do??!!

It’s no longer about religion, it’s about YOU and YOUR greed.@IzzyFolau 🤦🏼‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/mdywzaw1ha

— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) June 21, 2019

- with AAP