last may, israel folau, was kicked out of australian rugby. wallabies star and super rugby‘s record try scorer had already been warned about making homophobic comments, but was sacked when he repeated them in an online post. folau has now switched back to rugby league and will play for catalan dragons on a one year deal. he says he will keep his christian beliefs private. adam wild reports. there is no argument about the ability of israel folau. still, it is his ability to provoke arguments that has come to define his career. like a knife going through hot butter. last year, he was sacked by australia in the build—up to the rugby union world cup for ace social media post that claimed hell awaits 93v media post that claimed hell awaits gay people. israel folau had been warned about such views before. he sued rugby australia arguing that it was religious discrimination. the argument reignited with the news that folau is on his way to france, just days before the start of the season, catalan dragons have said welcome. they don't believe that under

israel folau hasjoined the catalan dragons.seen his rugby union contract terminated by the aru — he's signed for french rugby league side catalans dragons on a one year contract. both super league and the sport's governing body the rfl said it wasn't to their liking. adam wild reports. there is no argument about the ability of israel folau. still, it's his ability to provoke arguments that has come to define his career. last year, he was sacked by australia in the build—up to the rugby union world cup pro social media closed that claimed hell awaits gay people. israel folau had been warned about such views perform. that prompted legal action. he sued rugby australia arguing it was religious discrimination. his case was eventually settled before much debate around freedom of speech. the argument reignited with the news that folau is on his way to france. just days before the start of the super league season, folau have said goodbye. the rugby football league says it deplores his comments but they don't believe that under the cur

the return of israel folau.ormer australia international has switched codes nine months on from making homophobic comments on social media. and the great escape — roger federer saves seven match points to reach the australian open semi—finals. hello and welcome to the programme. after five day‘s of fa cup games— tonight was the turn of the league cup. and what a night it was at villa park. the second leg of their semi—final with leicester city. poised going into tonight's match at 1—1, it was matt targett on targett for the home side opening the scoring early into the first half to take them a step closer to wembley. but leicester weren't letting this go that easily. kelechi ihea nacho, just as he did in the first leg, made it 1—1, and just when it looked like it would be going to penalties... three minutes into injury time, trezeguet volleying a first—time beauty into the bottom right corner, putting aston villa into their first league cup final in ten years. look at what it means to the fans there. they'll fac

israel folau has which backed to rugby league.king homophobic comments. he will be playing for catalan dragons in the new super league season that starts this week. for me and the rest of the team it is goodbye for now. it has been a chilly day but today a contest. many were greeted by a dust of snow, even several centimetres to higher ground as you can see in this weather watcher picture in the island. further east, fewer showers, plenty of sunny spells, it was a beautiful afternoon in leicester. most of the show were out along the west facing coast with a bit of exposure to the wind and then continue through the night tonight. elsewhere we will see some clearer skies and temperatures are likely to follow a set temperature is get down to just below freezing in the north. again, we could see further snow showers around. if you get some showers around. if you get some shower through the night, that could lead to some icy stretches as well first thing. that is certainly worth bearing in mind if you are up and almost everywhere is at

after being kicked out of australian rugby union, israel folau has switched back to rugby league, signingre. he's been warned that any repeat would see his contract being "terminated immediately. " as you can imagine, there's been quite a reaction to the signing. wigan warriors say that their match against dragons in march will be a pride day in support of lg btq groups. and keegan hirst, the first british rugby league player to come out as gay, posted this: we'll be talking to hirst in the next hour. let's get to melbourne now, and the australian open. rafael nadal and dominic thiem will be playing for the last semifinal place in an hour or so. quite soon, actually. alexander zverev have made it through already. john watson is there. he was looking really good, wasn't he? yes, and that hasn't always been the case when it comes to performances at grand slam. he is always criticised for not turning up and making it through to the latter stages of these big tournaments, but he has certainly done that into the first grand slam semifinal here. he awaits the winner of the big match to come bet

st helen's have become the latest super league side to condemn catalans over the signing of israel folauby rugby australia last year for posting homophobic comments on social media, and yesterday signed a one—year deal with the french side. saints say his comments go against the core values of the club and the sport of rugby league. let's speak now to emily rudge who plays for st helen's women's team. we have heard from so many people, adding to this condemnation, gareth thomas, keegan hurst. how did you feel about this decision?” thomas, keegan hurst. how did you feel about this decision? i was very surprised to hear he had been signed, and disappointed, to be honest. i agree with comments already mentioned, it does kind of go against what rugby league stand for, it is a brown sport, promoting inclusivity and equality amongst everybody. i think that went against this. yeah, disappointed and surprised with the signing. tell me, asa surprised with the signing. tell me, as a gay play at yourself, have you a lwa ys as a gay play at yourself, have you always felt supported by the league? def

this man of course, israel folau.he big cross—code global stars, folau is another. his move to catalans was announced this week, a huge amount of anger within the game about his signing after he was sacked by australian rugby for his homophobic views. he won't play this weekend, catalans are playing huddersfield, but he could play next week, potentially making his debut against wakefield. there will be lots of attention on him and on catalans dragons.

this man of course, israel folau. we've talked about sonny bill williams as one of the big cross—code global stars, folau is another. his move to catalans was announced this week, a huge amount of anger within the game about his signing after he was sacked by australian rugby for his homophobic views. he won't play this weekend, catalans are playing huddersfield, but he could play next week, potentially making his debut against wakefield. there will be lots of attention on him and on catalans dragons. that story will rumble on. elsewhere, it will be a hugely poignant season for hull kingston rovers. many are tipping them to struggle on the pitch but all that is put into perspective as they continue to support their player mossy massoy who suffered a serious spinal injury in pre—season. his career is over, but the club and the wider sport will continue to support him in his rehabilitiation. the game of rugby league once more pulling together, as it has done very publicly in recent weeks for superleague legend rob burro

world during the tokyo 2020 games europe's rugby league bosses say they were powerless to stop israel folausigning for super league team cats once dragons allow a conservative christian was sacked by australian rugby union last year for posting homophobic comments on social media rival clubs have protested his arrival in super league including 2800 champions wakin here announced measures to support the gay community our sports correspondent lee wellings has more. dragons died zach what they're doing with this is the control over see it will cause it's a calculated risk designed for them to win move rugby matches this is not for them about offering full out some kind of redemption that chairman ago showed they don't support or agree with what the law and previously expressed and don't share or condone those views which were of course homophobic but many people who say well they are condoned in the views by employing him wiccan you thought that when they came out and said it's on 22nd of march they'll be a proud day for their much against catalans at the stadium then of course it became clear

europe's rugby league bosses say they were powerless to stop israel folau signing for super league team dragons allow a conservative christian was sacked by australian rugby union last year posting homophobic comments on social media rival clubs has protested his arrival in super league including 28. who announced measures to support the gay community. sports correspondent lee wellings joins us from london. taking a bit of a risque assigning fellow what's the justification or consequence dragons not exactly what they're doing with this in the control of a c. it will cause it's a calculated risk designed for them to win move rugby matches whether it's one way or another sport is a hard nosed business and this is not for them about offering full out some kind of redemption this is about getting a player that still has possibly some years of one ahead of him into that. scoring tries winning matches that chairman bernard go sure they don't support or agree with what fellow previously expressed and don't share or condone those views which are of course homophobic but many people who say well

israel folau makes a shock return to by israel folau makes a shock return to rugby league eight months an hour. thanks, susan. also coming up — we'll be in salford where a government fund is being proposed to help restore historic railway lines closed more than 50 years ago. that's in news nationwide, just after 4:30pm. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. the foreign secretary has defended the government's decision to continue to allow huawei to play a limited role in the uk's 5g network. the united states says it's disappointed by the move, which it believes will allow china to use the tech firm for spying. 5g will make mobile internet connections across the uk faster and allow more devices access at the same time. so what has the government agreed to? due to concerns about security huawei will be excluded from all sensitive parts of the network. and in all other areas, they will be limited to providing just over a third of the network infrastructure. speaking in the commons in the past hour, dominic raab has insisted the decision will not affect the government'

the former rugby union star israel folau, who was sacked by rugby australia for making homophobic comments one—year deal with the super league side catalans dragons. the rugby football league say that it was a difficult decision to allow him to play, but they can't prevent him because he hasn't been found guilty of any criminal offence. super league boss robert elstone says he is disppointed that one of their clubs has signed him and deplores his comments. folau says he will keep his religious beliefs private. in response to the signing, wigan warriors say that their match against dragons will be a pride day in support of lgbt groups. keegan hirst, who plays for championship side halifax, the first openly gay rugby league player, posted this on social media: "i'm shocked and disappointed at the signing of folau. our great game is tasked with fighting against homophobia and standing up for the values it puts such high stock in. it shows none of the bravery, cameraderie or integrity the rfl expects from its players, staff and fans. " tennis australia says that martina navratilova and john mc

coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news: the return of israel folau.ustralian rugby star, sacked because of homophobic comments, will be playing in the super league this season. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government has decided — despite strong objections from the white house — to maintain the chinese technology company huawei's involvement in the uk's 5g networks. there will, however, be restrictions. the firm will be banned from supplying parts to "sensitive areas" of the infrastructure known as "the core", and it will be excluded from sites near military bases and nuclear installations. but america has warned that granting huawei access to the network could allow the chinese government to spy. here's our security correspondent, gordon corera. sg 5g offers the promise of the connected future. more than just faster speeds, it will allow billions of devices to talk to each other. from self driving cars to automated factories, to smart homes filled with sensors. unlocking economic potential, but perhaps leaving us vulnerable. a

controversial australian israel folau is making a return to rugby he's been signed by french rugby league side catalan dragons for now a 2nd by the australian rugby union for making homophobic comments on social media he has been given a one year contract at the super league club. the build up continues in miami ahead of super bowl $54.00 that one taking place on sunday one of the biggest spectacles in world sport sees the san francisco $49.00 is up against the kansas city chiefs it's the chiefs 1st appearance in this showpiece game for 50 years and they are ready to seize the moment. we're going to find tonight here their little tweaks ritual make down here. not drastic changes in the game plan. but i like the focus that they have as a super bowl. as a super bowl i mean if you're out ready for this one then you're. you do your team injustice man. ok we'll leave it there for now barbara back to you on the peter thank you very much and that is it for this news hour don't go away the i'm going to be back in just a few minutes with more of the day's news and of course more reaction and analy

well very much linking to that story another controversial australian sporting figure israel folau is making a return to rugby he's been signed by french rugby league side catalans dragons fly was sacked by australia rigby union for making homophobic comments on social media rival super league team wigan has responded by shuffling their much against kathleen's on pride day in support of the gay community the n.b.a. has postponed tuesday's game between the l.a. lakers and the l.a. clippers in the wake of the death of lakers legend kobe bryant the 41 year old was killed in a helicopter crash in california along with his 13 year old daughter jana and 7 of the people just hours after the news broke this mural appeared in los angeles as people all over the world continue to pay their respects to one of sports greatest icons if you thought that mural was impressive look at this one on a court in the philippines where basketball is one of the most popular sports these funds miller started painting it on monday and completed it over night. the minnesota timberwolves on it kobe by winning the

another controversial australian sporting figure israel folau is making a return to rugby he's been signedby french rugby league side dragons were sacked by the australian rugby union for making homophobic comments on social media he's been given a one year contract at super league club rival sort of wigan responded by branding their match against catalan. pride today in support of the gay community. the n.b.a. has postponed the l.a. lakers and the l.a. clippers game in the wake of the death of lakers legend kobe bryant the minnesota timberwolves on it kobe's by winning the triple against the sacramento kings and then putting the ball down on the exact spot where bryant cost michael jordan on the scoring charts back in 2014 it was then a moment of which could be himself would have been pretty much the same. put the kid up and sticking his d. aaron fox balancing his free throw a football schizo converted into a 2 points and tie the game late in the 4th kings going on to win this 113-3129. could be brian states has affected people all over the world including the philippines where basketball

rugby league player keegan hirst has been talking to us about israel folau's return to the game.obic comments on social media but he's now signed for the french super league club catalan dragons. hirst, the first british player to come out, said he was deeply disappointed. the line is crossed when people use religious beliefs or political ideologies or whatever to justify any kind of prejudice, and the thing that is disappointing about it is if what he had said had been about race or another religion, then this would not even be being discussed, but it seems like homophobia is a lesser prejudice and all prejudices should be treated equally as intolerable. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. as we've been hearing, british citizens flown from wuhan in china will be put into quarantine for two weeks when they return to the uk as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. the move comes as the death toll from the virus has risen to 132, with all those deaths recorded in china. the number of individuals suspected of being infected around the

rugby league player keegan hirst has been speaking to us about israel folau's return to the game.gned for the french super league club catalans dragons. hirst, the first openly guy british rugby league player, says he's deeply disappointed: the line is crossed when people use religious beliefs or political ideologies or whatever to justify any kind of prejudice and the thing that's disappointing about it is if what he had said had been about race or another religion, then this wouldn't even be being discussed, but it seems like homophobia is a lesser prejudice and all prejudice should be treated equally as intolerable. that's all the sport for now. let's get more reaction to that announcement that the struggling rail operator, northern, is to lose its franchise and will be nationalised in march. the service, which is run by arriva, has been accused of allowing unacceptable delays across its network. david sidebottom, is director at the independent watchdog, transport focus. is this the inevitable conclusion? i think it was, i think passengers had lost trust and once that happens,