Australia’s First Openly Gay Professional Football Player Has Called Out Homophobia From Former Club After Coming Out
Cavallo said he was sidelined because of his sexuality and was angry people thought it was due to injuries, when in reality, it was due to "internal homophobia.”
Australia’s first openly gay professional football player has revealed his former football club discriminated against him after he came out.
27-year-old Josh Cavallo first came out as gay in an Instagram post in October 2021 while playing for Australia’s Adelaide United.
He said that he had been “fighting his sexuality for over 6 years” and knew other gay players are living in silence so he wants “to help change this.”
Adelaide United initially voiced support for Cavallo, before their contract ended in May 2025 and he moved to English football club Stamford AFC.
On Jan. 12, Cavallo said he wanted to be honest with fans about his final moments at Adelaide United.
He said he was sidelined because of his sexuality and was angry people thought it was due to injuries, when in reality, it was due to "internal homophobia.”
Cavallo said he kept his head down and tried to improve, but his “contributions were continuously ignored.”
Cavallo also said he was heartbroken after discovering that teammates had mocked a photo of him and his partner in a group chat, adding that it made him question whether he should have kept his sexuality a secret.
Adelaide United has denied Cavallo’s comments, saying that “all on-field decisions relating to team selection are made solely on footballing grounds”.
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