Folau, a devout evangelical Christian, landed himself in hot water in April when he shared a post on Instagram warning "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters" that "Hell awaits" if they did not repent.

The post was immediately and rightly called out as homophobic. Rugby Australia’s response was to terminate Folau’s reported AUD$4 million (£2 million/$3 million/€2.5 million) contract to play for the Wallabies, Australia's national team, and Super Rugby's NSW Waratahs.

The 30-year-old, unrepentant about his remarks, appealed the decision and requested a hearing. A three-person panel found him guilty of a "high level breach" of Rugby Australia's player code of conduct and upheld the dismissal, however. 

He has since launched legal proceedings against Rugby Australia, citing section 772 of Australia’s Fair Work Act. This states that it is "unlawful to terminate employment on the basis of religion". 

He is also seeking AUD$10 million (£5.5 million/$7 million/€6 million) in damages.

To assist with this, Folau started a GoFundMe page asking for AUD$3 million (£1.7 million/$2 million/€1.8 million) in public donations for legal costs, even though arguably he could cover this himself. His estimated AUD$7 million (£4 million/$5 million/ €4.5 million) property empire suggests so, anyway.

Folau raised AUD$672,640 (£372,087/$472,462/€414,699) in four days, but GoFundMe Australia then shut down the page, claiming that the campaign went against the organisation’s values. A new crowdfunding campaign, facilitated by the Australian Christian Lobby, was subsequently set up, raising AUD$2 million (£1 million/$1.5 million/€1.2 million) by the time it was put on hold last Thursday (June 27).

Some people have sympathy with Folau then, probably because his views come from his interpretation of religious teaching. Others are likely to see the dismissal as an attack on freedom of speech.

Whatever these people think, Folau breached Rugby Australia's code of conduct and was, therefore, dismissed. 

It is as simple as that. 

In fact, he broke two of the terms he agreed to when signing his multi-million-dollar contract. The first was Section 1.3, which states that players must "treat everyone equally, fairly and with dignity regardless of gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, cultural or religious background, age or disability. Any form of bullying, harassment or discrimination has no place in rugby".

Section 1.7 then tells players to "use social media appropriately. By all means share your positive experiences of rugby but do not use social media as a means to breach any of the expectations and requirements of you as a player contained in this code or in any union, club or competition rules and regulations".

Folau is also an influential public figure and his words have impact. The extremely harmful consequences that his post had the potential to produce, alongside the fact he had so obviously gone against the required code of conduct, means his sacking is entirely correct.

Maybe if Folau had apologised or redacted his comments, seeking education on the matter, he could have stayed. But the fact he has stood by his comments to such an extent shows he believes in them, justifying Rugby Australia's decision even further. He had even been warned about a similar post last year.  

In fact, Folau is actually continuing to issue homophobic comments. During an interview on Australia’s Sky News, he compared having a gay child to having a child that was a drug addict, something which goes beyond religious belief and becomes downright ignorance.

The controversy rumbles on then, and, even worse, threatens to worm its way into another sport and taint its flagship tournament, due to take place next month.

From July 12 to 21, the English city of Liverpool will host the Netball World Cup, a competition in which Folau’s wife, Maria, will feature. She is representing New Zealand, the runners-up of the past three editions of the tournament. The Silver Ferns will be one of the favourites yet again this year.

Last week, Folau, who plays for Adelaide Thunderbirds in Australia’s Super Netball league, shared her husband’s fundraising page on her Instagram account, making her support for him public. This had been implicitly understood by their marriage, anyway, but the post made it explicit. 

The subsequent backlash forced Netball Australia and Super Netball to release a joint statement standing by their player, while Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua also declared her support for the Kiwi.

There are those that have not been as accommodating, however, with former Australian netball captain Liz Ellis tweeting: "Yeah nah not good enough. There is no room for homophobia in our game. Anyone who is seen to support or endorse homophobia is not welcome. As much as I love watching Maria Folau play netball I do not want my sport endorsing the views of her husband".

Other stakeholders are also reportedly distancing themselves from Folau, with health insurance company HCF, sponsor of Adelaide Thunderbirds, the latest to express distaste at the netballer’s stance.

Such a situation may have a negative impact on the atmosphere of the Netball World Cup. Vocal supporters of Israel Folau have previously been booed, with fans at April’s Premiership Rugby match between Bristol and Saracens letting Billy Vunipola know what they thought of his comments regarding the incident. 

A more family-friendly crowd will be present at the Netball World Cup, of course, but the controversy is still one that organisers will not want lingering over the event.

What needs to be determined then, is how far Maria Folau’s support goes. Does she just feel that her husband was wrongfully dismissed, or does she agree with the view that homosexuals are going to hell? This needs to be made clear in order to solve the situation if the clamour continues to grow.

Maria Folau’s position is not enviable. The expression stuck between a rock and a hard place springs to mind, with the 32-year-old essentially having to decide between her husband and her sporting career. If she does agree with her husband’s views, however, and is willing to offer her public support for his homophobia, then she puts herself at odds with the values of playing for an international sports team and must go.

This controversy is set to remain in the public eye and we may soon see Maria Folau make an explicit statement on her position. If so, a decision regarding her place at the Netball World Cup will have to be made soon, or the situation may cloud what is set to be a fantastic sporting event in Liverpool.