Wallabies fullback Israel Folau has lost his appeal against a one-match ban he received for an aerial challenge against Ireland last Saturday.

Folau was cited for a challenge he made against Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony for which he received a yellow card in the first half. 

A World Rugby judicial panel handed him a one-match ban, which the 29-year-old appealed.

The ban rules Folau out of Friday’s top-of-the-table clash against the Rebels as the Waratahs push for the Super Rugby quarter-finals.

Folau’s Waratahs teammate Ned Hanigan told Rugby Australia that the ban has set a worrying precedent.

‘I think the issue with Israel is people are seeing a bit differently just because it’s that grey area,’ Hanigan said.

‘I think if you’ve got a bloke who’s genuinely not able to catch the ball and flying into a one-man lift, that’s obviously what we don’t want in our game, it’s a safety reason. But if you’ve got a genuine contest and things do go wrong, that’s where the onus would come in on the lifter.

‘I honestly reckon it’ll be a bit of a milestone or precedent to what will come in the future, with these types of issues.’

Photo: Brendan Moran/Getty Images