Israel Folau

Whare is leaving after eight years at the Panthers and almost 10 years in the NRL to link up with his former Penrith teammate James Maloney in Perpignan.

Catalans are reportedly “resigned to losing Israel Folau’’, who has returned to Australia to be near wife Maria’s ill mother, according to a report in England's League Express newspaper.

Whare, who has played 130 games for the Panthers, was contracted for 2021, but has opted to join Catalans on a two-year deal at short notice.

A devout Christian, Folau and Rugby Australia parted company after a lengthy legal row over alleged homophobic social media posts that ultimately ended in the union coughing up a mullti-million dollar payout for the star. He ended up back in league with Super League’s Catalan Dragons, where at least one teammate was eager to prank him over his views.

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting St George Illawarra have applied to the NRL to sign Israel Folau on a two-year deal.

ARLC chairman Peter V'landys has previously indicated the door was all but shut on Folau to return to the sport after the controversy surrounding his religious beliefs during his time in rugby union.

However the NRL has recently indicated to the Dragons that it will consider the application and will not make a decision until they have reviewed the proposal and spoken to the relevant parties said the Herald.

Folau, a Mormon, split with Australian Rugby in 2019 after he repeatedly posted what were perceived as homophobic religious memes to social media platforms. He was fired and then took Rugby Australia to court and won a multi-million dollar pay out.

Now French rugby publication Midi Olympique are reporting that the former Wallaby superstar, who was rumoured to have declined an approach by Montpellier Herault last year, is coming to the end of his Catalan Dragons contract, sparking fresh interest in French rugby union circles.

Folau remained standing while his teammates and the opposition took a knee before kick-off in deference to the Black Lives Matter movement. The move by Folau caused a stir among some journalists covering the game and sparked largely negative responses on social media. He soon began trending on Twitter in the UK.

Guardian journalist Aaron Bower wrote: “St Helens and Catalans players take the knee before kick-off: but noticeably Israel Folau did NOT join the rest of the players in doing so. Wow.”

The Sydney rugby league club was said to have put out the feelers to see if the former Wallabies star would be interested in returning to Australia but were told it was not an option for the 31-year-old.

However, the club did not make a formal offer, the report says.

“Wests Tigers were just feeling out the situation. It didn’t go too far and nothing will come of it,” a source close to Folau was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

Folau reached a settlement last December with RA over his controversial sacking for writing anti-gay posts on social media. The ex-Wallabies star had been suing for Aus $14million after having his contract terminated last May. A Christian, Folau argued that the termination of his contract was a case of religious discrimination.

Unable to pick up a contract in union amid the fallout in Australia, Folau opted to make the switch to league, hooking up with Catalan Dragons, the French-based SuperLeague club.

The Dragons have invited the Perpignan group to the match against the Salford Red Devils on Saturday (Sunday NZ time).

Folau - sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 after he published social media posts warning hell awaits homosexuals - has been the target of protest over his comments which he has claimed stem from his Christian faith.

Catalans were criticised after a Castleford Tigers fan complained stewards tried to stop her bringing a rainbow flag to Folau's first Super League game in Perpignan in February.

The 30-year-old former Wallaby made a tryscoring Super League debut for Catalans Dragons in their 36-18 win over Castleford in Perpignan a fortnight ago and promises to be the centre of attention at the KCOM Stadium on Sunday.

"He's an absolute talent, he could be Man of Steel," said Radford.

"He's multi-talented, at league, union, AFL, you can tell he's played AFL by how he jumps, he jumps like Michael Jordan."

The French club launched an investigation following complaints by visiting fans that they were ordered to take down their flags, which are a symbol of LGBT pride.

The flags were seen as a protest at the presence of Israel Folau - who was sacked by Rugby Australia for posting homophobic messages on social media last year - as he made his Catalans debut.

But the Dragons insist fans are welcome to display flags at their matches and say one fan was asked to take down a flag during Saturday's game only because it was covering an advertising board.