Haneen Zreika's AFLW Pride Round absence tricky to navigate for league bosses

The AFL's head of inclusion has spoken about Giants player Haneen Zreika, after the AFLW player refused to play wearing a guernsey celebrating Pride Round.

Zreika, a practicing Muslim, sat out the league's Pride Round as she believed the rainbow-themed uniform did not represent her faith.

The head of the AFL's inclusion and social policy, Tanya Hosch, told the ABC's The W podcast that inclusion was a complicated matter.

«People of faith have rights as well,» Hosch said.

«We say we're a game for everyone and here we've got a situation where we've got someone who feels they've got to make a decision on whether or not they'll play based on a uniform that they don't feel they should be representing in.

»We want the game to be inclusive, you don't get to choose to just pick and choose who represents inclusion."

Hosch revealed the AFL had been grappling with the issue for a number of weeks.

«I had a bit more awareness of it ahead of it entering the public domain, which I think the first thing to say was critical,» she said.

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A player deciding to opt out of Pride Round, for whatever reason, could have wide-ranging repercussions for the AFL.

The AFL Women's competition held its second official Pride Round last month. The aim of the round, according to the AFLW's homepage, is to host a «celebration of diversity and inclusivity within the game and community».

Hosch, a Torres Strait Islander and the AFL's second female executive, said she had to consult her peers both in and outside of the AFL sphere.

«I had the privilege of hearing from Haneen first-hand about the situation she found herself in,» she said.

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