🔗 Share this article

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

Since revealing his homosexuality in 2021, footballer the athlete has received daily death threats and hateful comments on online platforms.

“Upon reading those comments, it broke my heart,” Cavallo states. “No-one wants to read things like that.

“I'm trying to get better as a player and be the best I can be on the pitch, and then get put down because of who I am. It's disgusting.”

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

This summer he left Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who play in front of crowds of about 400 in the sixth division, one level below of English football.

The 25-year-old combines playing for the Cambridgeshire part-timers by advocating for inclusion matters and using his profile - he has more than one million followers on Instagram - to promote fairness and inclusion.

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

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

‘People want to harm me’

Several years passed for the athlete to work up the courage to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on 27 October 2021.

“All I want to do is play football and receive fair treatment,” he stated in an related clip.

Cavallo was twenty-one and building his reputation at Adelaide United in the premier division when, with the support of his team-mates, he publicly came out.

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

The heartfelt revelation clip, entitled ‘Josh's Truth’, went viral on digital platforms.

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

Liverpool were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to show solidarity with the player, with then manager the German manager saying: “I appreciate that he took this step because now we talk again.”

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique also offered support, posting online that “soccer culture is far behind and you are helping us move forward”, while Adelaide United issued a statement backing their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Others, however, were not so accepting.

The footballer quickly became a target of anti-gay remarks by opposition fans.

In January 2022 a competing team were penalized five thousand dollars over anti-gay abuse from fans aimed toward Cavallo during a match.

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

“I remained calm because responding would encourage detractors.”

A scary event occurred at a petrol station in Australia, where Cavallo was physically attacked 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, these are the consequences.

“My wish is that the next person who reveals their orientation while competing in soccer at a high level won't face the journey I have experienced.”

The player says the daily death threats and abusive messages have taken a toll on his mental health.

“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 ‘what gives you the right in football?’.

“Many individuals see me as a cheerful, positive person. But there are days 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 reveal his sexuality helped inspire teenage attacking player Jake Daniels to come out as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in May 2022.

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

“It would create massive change,” comments Cavallo on the effect a elite athlete revealing their orientation would have.

“But I'm not going to sugar-coat it. There are a lot of scary things that would await this individual. Within soccer culture, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place.”

Twenty-seven years after Justin Fashanu - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - took his own life in 1998, the current athlete has spoken about the “harmful male culture” that still exists in men's football.

“You just need to go to a game and see the hostile environment and masculinity that the crowd brings,” he says.

“Much remains to be done to ensure there is a secure environment in soccer for people like myself and Jake.

“Progress has been limited (more players coming out) as much as we would like.

“My role is to continue advocating for principles I believe in, and strive for eliminating the toxic masculinity in football changing rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘I'm here to create change’

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

Yet, he is disapproving toward soccer's global governing body, after Qatar, where same-sex relationships are against the law, hosted the men's World Cup in 2022.

The 2034 tournament is scheduled in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the global championship is in nations that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be put in prison for merely living on that land? It's scary,” says Cavallo.

“I receive communications [from residents of such nations] saying ‘I'm about to be put in prison for being who I am - can you help me?’.

“It's devastating that people are getting locked up for being who they are.

“Certain nations that are significant soccer markets and they don't accept LGBTQ+ people. Those are the countries that tend to target me.”

Despite this, the footballer says he won't cease advocating.

“Football has allowed me to start conversations in the changing room. It has allowed me to speak and inform individuals who seek understanding.

“Some will disapprove for your identity. But I have found my family. I have found my community.

“My mission is to create change. That's my objective.”