Sydney (dpa) - Australian rugby player Israel Folau has launched legal action over his sacking for making homophobic comments online.
Folau confirmed the legal action on his official Twitter account.
The rugby star, who is a devout Christian, believes that he was practising his religion and was therefore unlawfully dismissed.
Rugby Australia tore up Folau's multi-million-dollar, four-year contract in April after an independent panel found him guilty of breaching the body's code of conduct with an Instagram post which warned "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers" and others that "hell awaits you."
Folau is seeking 10 million Australian dollars (6.85 million US dollars) in damages from RA and wants his contract reinstated.
Over 2 million Australian dollars were raised on a campaign page set up by the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) to fund the rugby star's legal campaign.
The Christian group said over 20,000 people donated to the cause.
