Openly gay elite footballer labels former club 'homophobic'

The world’s first openly gay top-flight footballer said he suffered ‘internal homophobia’ that forced him to leave A-League side Adelaide United.

Josh Cavallo publicly announced his sexuality in October 2021 to widespread praise from members of the footballing community such as Gary Lineker and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

He became the first high-profile footballer to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990, who suffered severe abuse afterwards, and Cavallo alleges he has been discriminated against after his announcement too.

Cavallo has proved to be a trailblazer for his peers

A few months after Cavallo came out, 17-year-old Blackpool player Jake Daniels followed suit, and Sparta Prague player Jakub Jankto became the first active international footballer to come out when the Czech international posted on social media in 2023.

Cavallo took engagement photos at Adelaide’s ground only last year, but revealed why he felt he had been driven out of the club in an Instagram post on Monday.

He said: “Leaving the club had nothing to do with football. Decisions were made by people in power that blocked my opportunities, not because of my talent, but because of who I choose to love.”

“It’s hard to swallow when I realised my own club was homophobic. I was angry because people thought I was sidelined based on injuries, when in reality, it was internal homophobia that kept me on the bench.”

“I stayed professional, kept my head down, and worked hard every day which I’m proud of.”

“This was exactly the fear I had coming out, seeing prejudice affect my career in modern day. For the first time I questioned whether I should have kept my sexuality a secret.”

“I felt things going backwards, not just on the pitch, but in the one place I thought was a safe space and after seeing a group chat of teammates mocking a picture of my partner and me only added to this heartache.”

The ex-Australia youth international initially moved from Adelaide to Peterborough Sports, but is now playing at nearby Lincolnshire side Stamford in the seventh tier.

He said: “This fresh start in the UK has helped me breathe again and I hope I can fall back in love with the sport that means everything to me.”

“Despite the way it ended behind the scenes, I refuse to let it ruin my connection to this city. Adelaide is where I found my wings.”