🔗 Share this article

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

After announcing his homosexuality in 2021, player Josh Cavallo has faced constant threats and abusive messages on social media.

“Upon reading those comments, I was devastated,” the player states. “Nobody should have to endure such words.

“I'm working to improve my skills and reach my full potential on the pitch, and then get put down due to my identity. It's appalling.”

Midfielder Cavallo was at Adelaide United back in 2020 when he became the only openly gay top-flight male professional footballer in the world.

Recently he departed from Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in National League North, one level below of the English soccer system.

This young athlete combines playing for the Cambridgeshire part-timers by advocating for LGBTQ+ issues and leveraging his platform - boasting over a million followers on social media - to champion equality and acceptance.

“Absolutely, there's enormous work ahead,” Cavallo comments when asked if football still has a problem with discrimination.

“I don't go more than a week without hearing about an issue.”

‘People want to harm me’

Several years passed for Cavallo to work up the courage to say “I am homosexual” before coming out on 27 October 2021.

“My only desire is play football and receive fair treatment,” he said in an related clip.

The player was 21 and building his reputation at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, backed by his colleagues, he announced his orientation publicly.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I didn't know what to expect,” he says. “The moment seemed appropriate in my life. I wanted to take the next step.”

His emotional coming out video, titled ‘Josh's Truth’, went viral on digital platforms.

“My mobile phone exploded with encouraging words. The response was incredible.”

A prominent club were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to show solidarity with the player, with the coach at the time the German manager saying: “I'm really thankful that he took this step because now we talk again.”

Barcelona defender the athlete also expressed backing, writing on social media that “soccer culture is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while his former club issued a statement backing their “extraordinary” and “brave” player.

Some people, however, were not so accepting.

Cavallo quickly became a subject to homophobic abuse by opposition fans.

During early 2022 a competing team were penalized five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from spectators directed at the player during a match.

“The things I'd hear were painful and disparaging towards LGBTQ people,” he says.

“I didn't react because responding would encourage detractors.”

A scary event occurred at a gas station in Australia, where Cavallo was assaulted by an individual who identified him from the media attention.

“That was a scary moment,” he remembers. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is happening - individuals intend to hurt me’.

“Should this be tolerated? Absolutely not. But through my disclosure, these are the consequences.

“I hope that future individuals who reveals their orientation while competing in soccer at a high level doesn't have to experience the path I have endured.”

The player says the constant menacing messages and hostile communications have taken a toll on his mental health.

“It's quite sad because I am having to explain why I deserve a place on the football field for being who I am,” he says.

“We don't sit straight people down and ask ‘what gives you the right in football?’.

“A lot of people see me as a cheerful, optimistic person. But there are days when I rely on my partner, his name, and he gets to see a lot that happens behind the scenes.”

‘Top-tier athlete revealing orientation would create waves’

Cavallo's decision to reveal his sexuality helped inspire 17-year-old Blackpool forward another athlete to come out as the UK's only openly gay playing soccer professional in May 2022.

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

“It would move mountains,” says Cavallo on the impact a Premier League player revealing their orientation would make.

“But I must be honest. Numerous frightening aspects that would come this person's way. Within soccer culture, being an openly gay player is a highly hostile environment.”

Over two decades after a pioneering player - the UK's initial out soccer professional - took his own life in 1998, Cavallo has spoken about the “harmful male culture” that still exists in men's football.

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

“There is still a lot of work to ensure there is a safe space in football for people like myself and his colleague.

“We haven't seen it (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.

“My role is to continue advocating for what I think is right, and strive for eliminating the harmful male norms in football changing rooms and creating a safe space.”

‘I'm here to create change’

The player says football has allowed him to have conversations within team environments about revealing one's orientation.

However, he is critical of Fifa, after Qatar, where same-sex relationships are illegal, hosted the men's World Cup in 2022.

The 2034 tournament will be held in another Gulf state, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.

“Do I approve that the World Cup is in countries that ban gay unions, where individuals like myself will be put in prison for merely living on that land? It's scary,” states the athlete.

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

“It breaks my heart that individuals are incarcerated for being who they are.

“There are countries that are significant soccer markets and they reject LGBTQ+ people. These places that often focus on me.”

Despite this, the footballer says he will not stop speaking up.

“Soccer has allowed me to start conversations in the locker room. It has allowed me to speak and inform individuals who want to learn more.

“Not everyone is going to like you for your identity. But I have found my family. I've connected with similar people.

“My mission is to drive progress. That's my objective.”