🔗 Share this article

“You shouldn't exist” ... “What are you doing here?” ... “Stop breathing.”

After announcing he was gay in 2021, player Josh Cavallo has faced constant threats and abusive messages on online platforms.

“When I first saw these messages, it broke my heart,” the player states. “Nobody should have to endure such words.

“I'm trying to get better as a player and be the best I can be during matches, and then face criticism due to my identity. It's appalling.”

Player the sportsman was at Adelaide United four years ago when he emerged as the sole publicly out top-flight male professional footballer in the world.

This summer he left Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in the sixth division, one level below of the English soccer system.

This young athlete combines playing for the Cambridgeshire part-timers by speaking up on LGBTQ+ issues and leveraging his platform - he has more than one million followers on social media - to champion equality and inclusion.

“Absolutely, we've got mountains to do,” Cavallo says when asked if football still has a problem with homophobia.

“Rarely a week passes without hearing about an issue.”

‘People want to harm me’

It took years for Cavallo to work up the courage to say “I'm gay” before coming out on October 27th, 2021.

“My only desire is compete in soccer and be treated equally,” he said in an related clip.

The player was 21 and making a name for himself at his Australian club in the premier division when, backed by his colleagues, he publicly came out.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I had no expectations,” he recalls. “It felt like the right time in my life. I wanted to take the next step.”

The heartfelt revelation clip, entitled ‘His Personal Story’, gained massive attention on social media.

“My phone was flooded with messages of support. It was overwhelming.”

A prominent club were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to express support for the player, with then manager the German manager saying: “I appreciate that he took this step because now we talk again.”

Spanish player the athlete also offered support, posting online that “the world of football is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while Adelaide United issued a statement supporting their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Some people, however, were not so accepting.

Cavallo soon turned into a subject to anti-gay remarks by opposition fans.

During early 2022 Melbourne Victory were fined five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from fans directed at Cavallo during a game.

“The comments I encountered were painful and derogatory towards my community,” he explains.

“I didn't react because I knew that would only feed the haters.”

There was a frightening incident at a petrol station in Australia, where Cavallo was assaulted by an individual who identified him from the coverage.

“It was terrifying,” he remembers. “I remember thinking ‘this is real - people want to harm me’.

“Should this be tolerated? Absolutely not. But through my disclosure, this is what it brings.

“My wish is that the next person who reveals their orientation while playing football at a professional standard doesn't have to experience the journey I have experienced.”

Cavallo says the constant menacing messages and hostile communications have affected his psychological well-being.

“It's disappointing because I am having to explain why I belong on the football field for being who I am,” he states.

“Heterosexual players aren't questioned and ask ‘why should you exist in football?’.

“Many individuals see me as a cheerful, optimistic person. But sometimes when I lean on my fiance, his name, and he witnesses much of what occurs behind the scenes.”

‘Top-tier athlete revealing orientation would create waves’

The player's choice to disclose his orientation helped prompt teenage Blackpool forward Jake Daniels to announce he was gay as the UK's only openly gay playing soccer professional in May 2022.

Nevertheless, there are zero publicly LGBTQ athletes in the Premier League.

“It would move mountains,” comments Cavallo on the effect a elite athlete revealing their orientation would have.

“But I must be honest. There are a lot of scary things that would come this person's way. Within soccer culture, identifying as LGBTQ is a highly hostile environment.”

Over two decades after a pioneering player - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - took his own life in 1998, Cavallo has discussed the “toxic masculinity” that still exists in men's football.

“You just need to go to a game and observe the unfriendly atmosphere and male-dominated culture that the audience creates,” he says.

“There is still a lot of work to make sure there is a secure environment in soccer for people like myself and Jake.

“Progress has been limited (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and work towards taking out the harmful male norms in soccer locker rooms and creating a safe space.”

‘My mission is to drive progress’

Cavallo says football has enabled discussions within team environments about revealing one's orientation.

Yet, he is critical of Fifa, after the Middle Eastern nation, where same-sex relationships are illegal, staged the global tournament in 2022.

The 2034 tournament is scheduled in Saudi Arabia, where same-sex attraction is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the global championship is in countries that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for merely living on that land? It's frightening,” states Cavallo.

“I receive communications [from people living in these countries] saying ‘I'm about to be put in prison for being who I am - is assistance possible?’.

“It breaks my heart that people are getting locked up for being who they are.

“There are countries that are huge in terms of football and they don't accept the queer community. These places that often focus on me.”

Nevertheless, Cavallo says he will not stop speaking up.

“Football has enabled dialogue in the locker room. It has allowed me to speak and inform individuals who want to learn more.

“Some will disapprove for your identity. But I've discovered support. I have found my community.

“My mission is to create change. That's what I'm here for.”