Israel Folau guilty of code of conduct breach over homophobic Instagram posts - panel

A panel has ruled that Israel Folau breached the code of conduct by posting homophobic social-media content.

In an April Instagram post, the rugby star said gay people were "sinners", destined for Hell - the latest in a long history of anti-gay remarks from Folau.

His posts have been the subject of an Rugby Australia (RA) hearing since Saturday, with a panel consisting of John West QC (Chair), Kate Eastman SC and John Boultee AM deliberating whether he had breached the sport's code of conduct.

On Tuesday (NZT), they announced that he had.

"The panel has today provided a judgement that Israel Folau committed a high-level breach of the Professional Players' Code of Conduct with his social media posts on April 10, 2019," RA said in a statement.

A penalty hasn't been decided on yet. The panel is now accepting written submissions, while it considers what sanctions will be enforced.

On Sunday, Folau reportedly turned down a payout of AU$1 million (NZ$1.6 million) to end his dispute with RA.

Newshub.