{"id":301578,"date":"2023-05-29T03:02:40","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T03:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=301578"},"modified":"2023-05-29T03:58:48","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T03:58:48","slug":"folau-booed-repeatedly-as-queer-statement-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=301578","title":{"rendered":"Folau booed repeatedly as queer statement made"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel Folau<\/a> has been repeatedly booed by members of the crowd at Twickenham while playing for World XV in their 48-42 loss to the Barbarians.<\/p>\n

Throughout the exhibition match in London, loud boos rang around the stadium and were heard on the match broadcast whenever Folau handled the ball.<\/p>\n

The former Wallabies fullback was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019<\/a> following a homophobic social media post.<\/p>\n

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In protest of Folau's selection for the Killik Cup clash, the Rugby Football Union flew a pride flag above the ground, while a group of spectators \ufeffwore rainbow clothing and waved flags to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnEvely_BPost\/status\/1662800723707396100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/nickheathsport\/status\/1662838649996673026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the distraction, \ufeffFolau scored a try in the 24th minute.<\/p>\n

Speaking post-match, World XV and former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen<\/a> said the booing was of no benefit to anyone.<\/p>\n

"Everyone is allowed an opinion. We don't necessarily have to agree with each other on our opinions but you are entitled to have one," he told the media.<\/p>\n

"You can't be punished for the rest of your life for having an opinion that most of us disagree with. I've always been a great believer that you can't help somebody change by leaving them on the outside."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season on the home of rugby, Stan Sport.<\/strong><\/em> All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Nonchalantly sporting a pride wristband, Hansen said he did not broach the booing with Folau after the match.<\/p>\n

"We didn't speak about [the booing]," he said.<\/p>\n

"It was more about the game of footy that we spoke about."<\/p>\n

Hansen was \ufeffpreviously forced to defend his selection Folau, claiming the decision was purely based on his playing ability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Israel<\/p>\n

Of wearing the wristband Hansen said, "\ufeffI thought I would support them. The community is a special one and every human being deserves to be loved and cared for and judged on their own merits".<\/p>\n

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones<\/a> – who led the Barbarians – said he did not notice the booing, but was glad to see Folau back playing international rugby.<\/p>\n

"I didn't hear it, I was watching the game," he said.<\/p>\n

"We want all good players to be playing international rugby and for him (Folau) to get the opportunity to play again, that three-year rule from World Rugby is a very sensible rule.<\/p>\n

"It gives players who have represented other countries and have natural allegiances to another country a chance to play. That is very good."<\/p>\n

Folau is expected to represent Tonga at this year's World Cup.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israel Folau has been repeatedly booed by members of the crowd at Twickenham while playing for World XV in their 48-42 loss to the Barbarians. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":301580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=301578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301581,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301578\/revisions\/301581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/301580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=301578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=301578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=301578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}