Tuesday 13 August 2019 07:51, UK
Israel Folau's unfair dismissal case against Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Waratahs will be heard in February 2020 if no settlement is reached beforehand.
Fundamentalist Christian Folau is fighting the termination of his four-year contract in May after he posted a meme on social media that said hell awaited 'drunks, homosexuals, adulterers' and other groups.
The dispute could still be settled through mediation on December 13 but if that should fail, the case would proceed to trial on February 4, 2020.
Folau is seeking an apology from Rugby Australia, the right to resume his international career, and up to 10m Australian dollars (£5.6m) in compensation.
"It's been publicly acknowledged by Israel and his team that he still seeks that apology, and that's still very important to him," Folau's solicitor George Haros told reporters after the hearing.
"That would come a long way to resolving the dispute."
The 30-year-old raised more than 2m Australian dollars in public donations for his legal fight with the backing of a local Christian lobby.
Folau scored 37 tries in 73 Tests for the Wallabies and was expected to play a key role in the Rugby World Cup starting in Japan next month.
The 30-year-old did not appear at Tuesday's hearing.
