‘I’m exhausted by the whole thing’: Peter FitzSimons slams Israel Folau for asking for money to pay for his legal defence
- Peter FitzSimons has lashed out at Israel Folau for starting a GoFundMe appeal
- Folau’s GoFundMe page has raised $670,000 in donations in just five days
- Wallabies star was sacked last month for his homophobic Instagram posts
- Folau is raising money to wage a legal battle against Rugby Australia
- Folau and wife Maria have already spent more than $100,000 in legal costs
Peter FitzSimons has blasted sacked Wallabies star Israel Folau for crowdfunding money to pay his legal fees in his ongoing battle with Rugby Australia.
The former rugby champion said Folau lost the support of Australia when he started a GoFundMe page to raise $3million.
Mr FitzSimons said the popular crowdfunding website was for worthy causes such as expensive medical bills.
As of this morning, Folau’s campaign had reached over $600,000, Liz Ellis said on Nine’s Sports Sunday.
‘I’m exhausted by the whole thing,’ FitzSimons responded.
‘I’ll just say this, people say Australia was divided and I think there was some truth in that. Folau probably had 30 per cent support, I think after this GoFundMe most of Australia went ‘what, seriously?’
‘That’s not what GoFundMe is for, it’s for worthy causes where the people need money and they can’t support it so they approach the community and say “listen, I’ve got nothing in my pockets, I’ve got a tumour can you help me?”‘
Former rugby champion Peter FitzSimons (pictured) has lashed out at sacked Wallabies star Israel Folau for asking money for his legal battle against Rugby Australia
Folau, 30, has been slammed for using GoFundMe to raise funds for his lawyers’ fees after launching legal proceedings with the Fair Work Commission against Rugby Australia.
He is seeking up to $10million in damages.
But despite backlash from Rugby Australia, former teammates and the general public, the devout Christian said he was certain of his choices.
‘While the attacks against me have shown I have a big fight on my hands, I will stand strong,’ he said.
‘Your support and my faith in Jesus Christ will give me strength.’
Folau says he and wife Maria (pictured together), an international netball player, have already spent more than $100,000 dealing with RA’s internal tribunal processes.
Donations have not slowed down after Folau’s impressive property portfolio was released, which is reportedly worth a whopping $6.5 million across New South Wales and Queensland.
Folau says he and wife Maria, an international netball player, have already spent more than $100,000 dealing with RA’s internal tribunal processes.
He was sacked after coming under fire for posting an image to Instagram claiming drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters would go to hell.