Identifying as LGBTQ+ in Men's Football: A Toxic Environment

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

Since revealing his homosexuality in 2021, player Josh Cavallo has received daily death threats and hateful comments on social media.

“When I first saw these messages, I was devastated,” Cavallo explains. “Nobody should have to endure such words.

“I'm trying to get better as a player and reach my full potential during matches, and then face criticism due to my identity. It's disgusting.”

Player the sportsman was at Adelaide United four years ago 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 compete before audiences of about 400 in National League North, one level below of the English soccer system.

The 25-year-old balances his sports career 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 acceptance.

“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 build up the bravery to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on October 27th, 2021.

“All I want to do is compete in soccer and receive fair treatment,” he said in an accompanying video.

The player was 21 and making a name for himself at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, backed by his colleagues, he publicly came out.

“The future was uncertain. 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 social media.

“My mobile phone exploded with messages of support. The response was incredible.”

A prominent club 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 the athlete also offered support, posting online that “soccer culture is far behind and your actions drive progress”, while his former club issued a statement supporting their “extraordinary” 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 a competing team were fined five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from fans aimed toward the player during a game.

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

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

There was a frightening incident at a gas station in Australia, where the athlete was physically attacked by an individual who identified him from the coverage.

“That was a scary moment,” he recalls. “I remember thinking ‘this is happening - individuals intend to hurt me’.

“Is it acceptable? Absolutely not. But by coming out, these are the consequences.

“I hope that the next person who comes out while playing football at a high level doesn't have to experience the path I have endured.”

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

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

“We don't sit straight people down and ask ‘why should you exist in football?’.

“A lot of people see me as a smiling, positive person. But sometimes when I lean on my fiance, Leighton, and he gets to see a lot that happens behind the scenes.”

‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’

The player's choice to reveal his sexuality helped inspire 17-year-old Blackpool forward another athlete to announce he was gay as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in May 2022.

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

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

“But I'm not going to sugar-coat it. There are a lot of scary things that would come this person's way. In the world of football, 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 persists in professional soccer.

“Simply attend to a match and see the unfriendly atmosphere and masculinity that the crowd brings,” he explains.

“Much remains to be done to make sure there is a secure environment in soccer for individuals like me and his colleague.

“We haven't seen it (more players coming out) as much as we would like.

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and work towards taking out the toxic masculinity in football changing rooms and creating a safe space.”

‘I'm here to create change’

The player says soccer has allowed him to have conversations inside dressing rooms about coming out.

However, he is critical of soccer's global governing body, after the Middle Eastern nation, where same-sex relationships are illegal, hosted the men's World Cup in 2022.

The 2034 tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.

“Do I approve that the global championship is in nations that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for just existing on their territory? It's frightening,” states the athlete.

“I receive communications [from residents of such nations] saying ‘I'm about to be put in prison for my identity - is assistance possible?’.

“It breaks my heart that individuals are incarcerated for their true selves.

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

Nevertheless, the footballer says he won't cease advocating.

“Soccer has enabled dialogue in the changing room. It lets me communicate and inform individuals who want to learn more.

“Some will disapprove for who you are. But I've discovered support. I've connected with similar people.

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