FOOTBALL’S first openly-gay male professional star claimed he was forced out of his former club due to “internal homophobia”.
Joshua Cavallo came out in 2021 with a brave and emotional video on social media when he was just 21.
He said he was “tired of trying to live this double life, it’s exhausting”.
Cavallo, now 26, was with Adelaide United in his homeland Australia at the time and the club shared the video on their own social media accounts.
However, Cavallo left Adelaide last May and has now joined English non-league side Stamford AFC.
And he took to Instagram on Monday evening to slam Adelaide for the circumstances around his exit and alleged he was left out of the team because of his sexuality.
The explosive post hit out at the management of the club and even team-mates for their conduct and behaviour, leaving Cavallo wondering whether he made a mistake in being honest about being gay.
Cavallo wrote: “It’s taken me a while to digest how my time at Adelaide United ended, but I think the fans deserve honesty.
“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.
“Under the new management, it became clear that I wasn’t allowed on the pitch because of politics.
“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.
“Yet no matter how much I produced or improved, my contributions were continuously ignored.
“It brought a lot of negativity and affected my well-being as a professional footballer.”
Cavallo – who got engaged to his electrician boyfriend at Adelaide’s stadium in 2024 – has had to deal with “multiple death threats every day” since his watershed announcement.
And in yesterday’s post he went on to open up about crippling doubts over that decision – but also thanked the city of Adelaide and its football fans as he makes a “fresh start” in England.
Cavallo added: “This was exactly the fear I had about coming out, seeing prejudice affect my career in the modern day.
“For the first time, I actually questioned if I should have kept my sexuality a secret.
“This brought up fears I had about coming out publicly, that being myself would affect my career.
“I felt incredibly isolated and wondered if I’d made the mistake of sharing my story.
“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 team-mates mocking a picture of me and my partner only added to this heartache.
“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.
“To the fans and supporters: thank you for your passion and backing. You deserve honesty and success. You were incredible to play in front of. Thank you.”
Adelaide United said they are “extremely disappointed” by the claims and “categorically reject” them.
The club will play in their fourth Pride Cup match this weekend and a spokesperson said: “Adelaide United has always been committed to fostering an inclusive environment for players, staff and supporters, and we remain proud of our ongoing work to promote inclusion across football.
“All on-field decisions relating to team selection are made solely on footballing grounds.”
