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Israel Folau has announced that he is officially undertaking legal action against Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs over his termination as a result of breach of contract.

Rugby Australia t citing a high-level breach of contract after he posted comments on social media saying homosexuals will go to “hell” and that legal right for trans people are a sign people should “repent and turn away from evil.

A hearing for Folau’s Federal Circuit Court case will take place on August 13 in Melbourne, after his appeal to the Fair Work Commission was unsuccessful, the .

It comes as , left his position at St. Gregory’s College in Campbelltown after describing the Catholic Church as “the synagogue of Satan”.

Folau launched a GoFundMe campaign in June to fund his legal fees, with .

The Australian Christian Lobby stepped up to host a campaign for Folau’s fight instead, with donations frozen after the fund reached an astonishing $2 million.

Folau posted on his website to tell supporters about the impending court proceedings, saying that the “conciliation before the Fair Work Commission did not resolve” the dispute between Folau and the sporting organisations.

“Accordingly, I am today commencing court proceedings against Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs,” Folau said.

“I have been blessed to have received the support of tens of thousands of Australians throughout my journey, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has offered their prayers and support.

“It has meant so much to [my wife] Maria and me over the last few months and gives us strength for the road ahead.”

Rugby Australia will argue that Folau’s termination was purely on the basis of his contract breach, the code of conduct in which states he must “treat everyone equally, fairly and with dignity regardless of … sexual orientation.”

Folau’s case is seen as a potential precedent for similar unfair dismissal cases with the courts set to weigh the importance of an employer’s right to enforce contracts against an employee’s freedom of religion.

Folau infamously

More recently, at a Sydney church.

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