Being Gay in Men's Football: A Toxic Environment

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

After announcing he was gay in 2021, footballer Josh Cavallo has received daily death threats and abusive messages on online platforms.

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

“I'm trying to get better as a player and be the best I can be during matches, and then face criticism due to my identity. It's disgusting.”

Player Cavallo was playing for 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.

This young athlete balances his sports career for the Cambridgeshire part-timers by speaking up on inclusion matters and using his profile - boasting over a million followers on social media - to champion equality and acceptance.

“Definitely, there's enormous work ahead,” the footballer says when asked if football still has a problem with discrimination.

“I don't go more than a week without encountering problems.”

‘People want to harm me’

It took years for Cavallo to work up the courage to say “I'm gay” before coming out on 27 October 2021.

“My only desire is play football and receive fair treatment,” he said in an related clip.

Cavallo was twenty-one and building his reputation at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, with the support of his team-mates, he publicly came out.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I had no expectations,” he recalls. “It felt like the right time in my life. I needed to move forward.”

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

“My phone was flooded 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 Cavallo, with the coach at the time Jurgen Klopp saying: “I'm really thankful that he did it because now we talk again.”

Spanish player Gerard Pique also offered support, writing on social media that “the world of football is lagging behind and your actions drive progress”, while his former club released a comment backing their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Some people, however, were less welcoming.

Cavallo quickly became a target of anti-gay remarks by rival supporters.

During early 2022 a competing team were penalized five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from fans aimed toward Cavallo during a match.

“The comments I encountered were painful and disparaging towards my community,” he says.

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

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

“That was a scary moment,” he remembers. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is real - people want to harm me’.

“Should this be tolerated? Absolutely not. But by coming out, this is what it brings.

“I hope that future individuals who comes out while playing football at a professional standard doesn't have to experience the path I have endured.”

Cavallo says the daily death threats and hostile communications have taken a toll on his mental health.

“It's disappointing because I am having to explain why I deserve a place on the soccer pitch 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 smiling, optimistic person. But there are days when I lean on my fiance, Leighton, and he witnesses much of what occurs privately.”

‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’

Cavallo's decision to disclose his orientation helped inspire teenage attacking player another athlete to come out as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in spring 2022.

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

“It would create massive change,” says the footballer on the effect a Premier League player coming out would have.

“But I'm not going to sugar-coat it. Numerous frightening aspects that would come this person's way. 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 - died by suicide in 1998, the current athlete has discussed the “harmful male culture” that persists in men's football.

“You just need to go to a game and see the unfriendly atmosphere and male-dominated culture that the audience creates,” he explains.

“There is still a lot of work to ensure there is a safe space in football for individuals like me and his colleague.

“We haven't seen it (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as much as we would like.

“My role is to continue advocating for what I think is right, and work towards taking out the harmful male norms in soccer locker rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘My mission is to drive progress’

Cavallo says football has enabled discussions inside dressing rooms about revealing one's orientation.

However, he is critical of Fifa, after the Middle Eastern nation, where same-sex relationships are against the law, staged the global tournament in 2022.

The 2034 tournament will be held in another Gulf state, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the World Cup is in nations that ban gay unions, where individuals like myself will be put in prison for just existing on their territory? It's scary,” says the athlete.

“I receive communications [from people living in these countries] saying ‘I face imprisonment for my identity - is assistance possible?’.

“It's devastating that individuals are incarcerated for being who they are.

“There are countries that are significant soccer markets and they reject 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 want to learn more.

“Some will disapprove for your identity. But I have found my family. I've connected with similar people.

“My purpose is to drive progress. That's my objective.”