Gay footballer Josh Cavallo calls out homophobic abuse: This shouldn't be acceptable

Adelaide United left-back Josh Cavallo has expressed his disappointment after he received homophobic abuse from the crowd during his team's A-League match away at Melbourne Victory on Saturday.

Cavallo, who came on as a substitute in the 54th minute, came out as gay in October last year and became the first openly gay professional top flight men's footballer in the world.

The 22-year-old received support from several football stars, including Gerard Pique, Raphael Varane, Marcus Rashford, Gary Lineker, Robin van Persie and Joey Barton, plus the backing of clubs such as Liverpool and Juventus. However, he has now been forced to call out abuse.

"I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night," Cavallo wrote on his Instagram, referencing Adelaide United's match at Melbourne Victory.

"There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was. As a society this 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."

Cavallo calls out Instagram

Cavallo said he was also targeted after the game on social media and used his post to call for changes to how Instagram deals with homophobic abuse.

"To Instagram, I don't want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I've received," Cavallo added.

"I knew truly 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."

APL 'saddened and shocked' by abuse

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have stated they are working with both clubs to investigate the incident and have confirmed to punish anyone involved.

"Our players, staff and fans have the right to feel safe on and off the pitch," APL CEO Danny Townsend said. "There is no place for bullying, harassment or abuse in Australian football and we have zero tolerance for this harmful behaviour.

"We fully support Josh Cavallo and want to ensure he can focus on his football performance, rather than on vile abuse. We will continue to concentrate our efforts on creating safe and welcoming A-Leagues for all."