Gary Ablett responds to Israel Folau Instagram controversy

Gary Ablett has responded to the controversy surrounding him 'liking' Israel Folau's controversial social media post.

Wallabies and Waratahs star and former GWS forward Folau posted a photo to Instagram a couple of weeks ago that said "hell awaits" for drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters.

Geelong superstar Ablett and Carlton youngster Matthew Kennedy both 'liked' the post, which, pending a hearing, looks like costing Folau his contract with Rugby Australia.

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AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan responded to the controversy on Friday, saying Ablett and Kennedy had been spoken to.

"The thing of note about the two players is they've both 'unliked' it," McLachlan said on 3AW.

McLachlan refused to speculate when asked about what would happen if an AFL player posted something similar, though he did say that Ablett and Kennedy had held "mature discussions" with their clubs over the matter.

"I know that people have spoken to them," McLachlan added.

"It's a mature discussion to say 'we understand your faith is important to you and we are fully supportive of that but you need to mindful of where there is a possibility for a conflict'."

Ablett himself addressed the matter on Saturday, posting to Instagram his explanation and justification for initially 'liking' the post.

View this post on Instagram

There has been a lot of coverage about Israel Folau’s post this week. It saddens me and my family to see how the coverage of this story has played out. I want to make it clear that I love ALL people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality. I have always admired how strong Izzy is in his faith, it is not easy to share faith in the public sphere, and this is why I initially 'liked' his post. I understand that liking this post appeared offensive and this is why I chose to remove my 'like' from the post. As a Christian, I believe that God sent his one and only son Jesus to die on the cross so that anyone can come to have an intimate and personal relationship with him. This is the core message behind why I believe we celebrate Easter. I also believe that we are all sinners, that no one including myself is exempt from this and this is why Jesus died for us so that we could all be forgiven by God. God is a loving God and I pray that everyone will come to experience that same love as I have. Happy Easter everyone!

A post shared by GARY ABLETT (@garyablettjnr) on Apr 19, 2019 at 8:46pm PDT

"There has been a lot of coverage about Israel Folau’s post this week. It saddens me and my family to see how the coverage of this story has played out," Ablett wrote.

"I want to make it clear that I love ALL people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality.

"I have always admired how strong Izzy is in his faith, it is not easy to share faith in the public sphere, and this is why I initially 'liked' his post. 

"I understand that liking this post appeared offensive and this is why I chose to remove my 'like' from the post."

Ablett and his Geelong teammates will attempt to rebound from their round four loss to GWS when they take on Hawthorn at the MCG on Monday.