ANOTHER twist in the Folau saga as Catalans consider legal action

Catalans Dragons are considering taking legal action against Israel Folau following his latest attempt to return to the sport in Australia, Sports Mole has revealed.

Folau was given compassionate leave by the French club at the beginning of 2021 after a close family member fell ill, but he has yet to return to the Stade Gilbert Brutus despite being contracted to the Dragons this season.

Catalans football manager Alex Chan says he was “shocked” by news of Folau’s bid to sign for Southport Tigers, who play in the Queensland League.

Our stance hasn’t changed,” Chan told the PA news agency. “We’ve given Israel and his family time to get back together and make sure that everything is going good and we expected that, once Izzy found some stability, we’ve left the door open.

“We still hold his contract, he’s still a registered player with Catalans Dragons. It was a big shock to see what was put out there.

“We can’t just let things happen like this. I’ve got to meet with the club president and our directors but I’ve already made our legal team aware of the situation that is starting to unfold.

“We can’t just let things happen like this. We need to start being pro-active from our end in case things start to escalate and go nasty.”