SALE SHARKS have told Israel Folau there is NO chance they would sign him after his homophobia and anti-gay slurs.
The ambitious club are in the market for a world-class full-back and were linked with a £750,000-a-year deal for the controversial Australia star.
But boss Steve Diamond says here is no mega-money contract on the table for Folau, 29, who said that God’s plan for gay people was: “HELL… Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.”
Waratahs ace Folau was also heavily against Australia’s vote for same-sex marriage at the end of 2017.
And Sharks boss Diamond told SunSport: “We don’t want to be associated with that.
“I don’t think we would look at him. There are certain things where everyone is worth a second chance. But if you carry on saying it, then it doesn’t read right.
“We have the Spartans in Manchester who are one of the gay teams and we are involved with them a little bit. It has to be all-inclusive.
“Israel Folau is a fantastic player, but what he said has not gone down well in the rugby world. He would also be too much money for us anyway.”
Devout Christian, Folau, has refused to apologise for his outspoken views.
And he held crunch talks with Rugby Australia’s chief exec Raelene Castle over his comments made on Instagram over his future.
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Folau even offered to walk away from his contract Down Under and says he has had deals on the table from the Premiership as well as France ands Japan.
And he claimed that despite the comments, he is not homophobic.
He said: “Since my social media posts were publicised it has been suggested that I am homophobic and bigoted and that I have a problem with gay people. This could not be further from the truth.
“I love rugby union. It has allowed me to travel all over the world and meet some fascinating people along the way.
“I do not want to bring hurt to the game and want as many people playing it as possible, so when I spoke to Raelene about walking away, it was to help the game, not harm it, in the event we couldn’t come to an understanding.”
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