Melbourne ¨C Seven players from Australian National Rugby League team Manly Sea Eagles will boycott a championship match this week in protest at being made to wear an ¡°inclusiveness¡± jersey, triggering criticism from the club¡¯s first openly gay player.

Manly coach Des Hasler said the players were opposed to wearing the pride jersey on ¡°religious and cultural¡± grounds and would not play the team¡¯s home game against Sydney Roosters on Thursday.

¡°The players will not play on Thursday and we accept their decision,¡± an emotional Hasler told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

¡°These young men are strong in their beliefs and their convictions and we will give them the space and the support they require.¡±

Manly announced on Monday the team would wear the jersey which has rainbow bands as a symbol of ¡°inclusiveness.¡±

Former Manly great Ian Roberts, the first professional rugby league player to come out as gay, said the players¡¯ opposition to the jersey was ¡°sad and uncomfortable.¡±

¡°I can promise you every young kid on the northern beaches (of Sydney) who is dealing with their sexuality would have heard about this,¡± he told Sydney¡¯s Daily Telegraph.

Hasler said Manly had mismanaged the well-intentioned jersey initiative by not consulting its players and had failed to adequately inform stakeholders inside and outside the club.

Reading from a prepared statement, he apologized on the club¡¯s behalf both to the players and to the ¡°minority groups within the community who embrace the rainbow colors as a symbol of pride in who they are.¡±

¡°The intent of the jersey was to support the advocacy and human rights pertaining to gender, race, culture, ability and LGBTQ movements,¡± he said.

¡°Sadly the execution ... was poor.¡±

Prior to Hasler¡¯s comments, NRL boss Peter V¡¯landys said the league respected the players¡¯ position but hoped they would change their minds.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier endorsed Manly¡¯s decision to wear the jersey and said he hoped the standoff would be resolved.

¡°It¡¯s a good thing that sport is more inclusive,¡± he told reporters on Tuesday.

¡°It¡¯s important that in Australian society, we respect everyone for who they are.¡±

The controversy has completely overshadowed the NRL¡¯s launch this week of its ¡°Women in League Round,¡± which is focused on the role of women in the sport and tackling gender inequality.

The boycott was criticized widely on social media, with the players branded ¡°bigots¡± and ¡°homophobic.¡±

Hasler said the club needed to support them, particularly on the ¡°mental health side.¡±

¡°We¡¯ll do what is needed,¡± he said.

Manly will now be shorthanded for a match that could have a significant impact on the team¡¯s chances of qualifying for the NRL playoffs.

The Sea Eagles are ninth on the table, on equal points with the eighth-placed Roosters with six rounds left in the regular season.

The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.

¡°That¡¯s the situation we¡¯re in right now,¡± Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans told reporters.

¡°Unfortunately we¡¯re not going to make everyone happy. And like a lot of things in life, we can¡¯t make everyone happy.¡±