Identifying as LGBTQ+ in Professional Soccer: An Unwelcoming Atmosphere

“You don't belong on this earth” ... “What are you doing here?” ... “Don't take another breath.”

Since revealing he was gay in 2021, footballer Josh Cavallo has received daily death threats and abusive messages on social media.

“When I first saw these messages, it broke my heart,” Cavallo states. “No-one wants to read things like that.

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

Player the sportsman was at Adelaide United back in 2020 when he emerged as the sole publicly out top-flight male professional footballer in the world.

Recently he departed from Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who play in front of crowds of about 400 in the sixth division, the sixth tier of the English soccer system.

This young athlete balances his sports career for the semi-professional team by advocating for inclusion matters and using his profile - he has more than one million followers on Instagram - to champion equality and inclusion.

“Absolutely, we've got mountains to do,” 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 the athlete to work up the courage to say “I am homosexual” before coming out on October 27th, 2021.

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

Cavallo was twenty-one and making a name for himself at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, backed by his colleagues, he publicly came out.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I had no expectations,” he says. “The moment seemed appropriate in my life. I wanted to take the next step.”

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

“My mobile phone exploded with encouraging words. It was overwhelming.”

Liverpool were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to express support for Cavallo, with the coach at the time 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 “soccer culture is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while Adelaide United released a comment supporting their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Others, however, were not so accepting.

The footballer quickly became a subject to homophobic abuse by opposition fans.

In January 2022 a competing team were penalized A$5,000 over discriminatory chants from fans directed at the player during a match.

“The comments I encountered were hurtful and derogatory towards LGBTQ people,” he explains.

“I remained calm because I knew that would only feed the haters.”

A scary event occurred at a gas station in Australia, where the athlete was physically attacked by an individual who identified him from the coverage.

“It was terrifying,” he recalls. “I remember thinking ‘this is happening - 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 comes out while competing in soccer at a professional standard won't face the journey I have endured.”

Cavallo says the constant menacing messages and hostile communications have affected his mental health.

“It's disappointing because I must justify why I deserve a place on the soccer pitch for my identity,” he states.

“Heterosexual players aren't questioned and ask ‘what gives you the right in football?’.

“A lot of people see me as a smiling, optimistic 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 prompt 17-year-old Blackpool forward Jake Daniels to announce he was gay as the Britain's sole publicly out playing soccer professional in May 2022.

Nevertheless, there are no openly gay or bisexual players in the top English division.

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

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

Twenty-seven years after Justin Fashanu - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - took his own life in 1998, Cavallo has discussed the “toxic masculinity” that persists in men's football.

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

“There is still a lot of work to ensure there is a secure environment in football for individuals like me and Jake.

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

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and strive for eliminating the harmful male norms in football changing rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘I'm here to create change’

Cavallo says football has allowed him to have conversations inside dressing rooms about revealing one's orientation.

However, he is disapproving toward soccer's global governing body, after the Middle Eastern nation, where homosexual partnerships are illegal, staged the global tournament in 2022.

Future World Cup is scheduled in Saudi Arabia, where same-sex attraction is also illegal.

“Am I impressed that the World Cup is in countries that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for merely living on their territory? It's frightening,” says Cavallo.

“I get messages [from residents of such nations] saying ‘I face imprisonment for my identity - can you help me?’.

“It's devastating that people are getting locked up for their true selves.

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

Despite this, Cavallo says he will not stop speaking up.

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

“Not everyone is going to like you for your identity. But I have found my family. I have found my community.

“My purpose is to drive progress. That's what I'm here for.”