Adelaide United defender Josh Cavallo says he has “no words” to describe his disappointment at receiving homophobic abuse at an A-League game last night.
Cavallo received widespread acclaim when he became the world’s only openly gay male active professional footballer in October last year.
The 22-year-old was a second-half substitute during Adelaide’s 1-1 away draw against Melbourne Victory on Saturday and said he had been subject to homophobic abuse from the crowd at AAMI Park.
“I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night,” Cavallo posted on Twitter. “There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was. As a society it shows we still face these problems in 2022.
“This shouldn’t be acceptable and we need to do more to hold these people accountable. Hate never will win. I will never apologise for living my truth and most recently who I am outside of football.
“To all the young people who have received homophobic abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing your dreams. Know that there is no place in the game for this. Football is a game for everyone no matter of who you are, what colour your skin is or where you come from.”
Cavallo also called on social media sites Twitter and Facebook-owned Instagram to do more to prevent abusive messages from being sent.
“To the social media networks, @instagram and @twitter I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I’ve received. I knew truely (sic) being who I am that I was going to come across this. It’s a sad reality that your platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.
“Thank you to all the positive messages, love and support, seeing that far outweighs the negativity. To the individuals that reached out after making a stand at the game. I commend you. Thank you to those fans, you had me emotional. Love will always win.”
Adelaide and Melbourne both condemned the abuse, saying they will work together with the Australian Professional Leagues to investigate further.
Australian Football’s governing body later expressed its support for Cavallo.
It said: “Football Australia stands with you, Joshua Cavallo.
“As one of the most diverse and inclusive sports in Australia, we must all work together to stamp out homophobia and abuse, and ensure football is a safe space for everyone.”
(Photo: Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
‘No words’: Australian Josh Cavallo calls out homophobic abuse at Adelaide match - The Athletic
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