Openly Gay Soccer Star, Josh Cavallo, Hits Back at Homophobic Abuse

“As a society this shows we still face these problems in 2022.”

Adelaide United defender, Josh Cavallo, was subjected to verbal abuse from members of the crowd at his team’s away game against Melbourne Victory on Sunday.

But the 22-year-old did not have a bar of it.

Cavallo came out on his social media account in October 2021 and is currently the only openly gay player in a top-tier men’s football league worldwide.

He took to Instagram to comment on the weekend’s incident saying, “I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night.

There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was. As a society this shows we still face these problems in 2022.”

In addition to the abuse at the game, Cavallo received hurtful messages on social media which he directly addressed in his post, calling for action.

"To @instagram I don't want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I've received," he said. "It's a sad reality that your platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages."

Cavallo has been met with support by Adelaide United chief executive Nathan Kosmina, who stated on the official website, "Adelaide United is proud to be an inclusive and diverse football club, and to see one of our players subjected to homophobic abuse is disappointing and upsetting.”

This isn’t the first time Cavallo has had to take a stand against bigotry. In November last year, he clapped back at the LGB Alliance, a transphobic ‘charity’ that believes trans people are a ‘threat’ to the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Here’s hoping Cavallo’s use of his platform will encourage some positive change in the industry.

Header Image: @joshuacavallo via Instagram.