Josh Cavallo calls out ‘disappointing’ and ‘unacceptable’ homophobic abuse in A-League game

The 22-year-old became the first active A-League player to come out as gay in October

Adelaide United's Josh Cavallo called out homophobic abuse that was directed at him during an A-League draw with Melbourne Victory on Sunday, saying he had "no words" to describe his disappointment.

Cavallo became the first active A-League player to come out as gay in October, drawing support from fellow professionals across the world.

"I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night," Cavallo said on Instagram. "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 urged Instagram to step up its efforts in combating online 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 said.

"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."

Adelaide and Victory released statements condemning the abuse faced by Cavallo, saying they were working with the Australian Professional Leagues to investigate the incident.

"Adelaide United is proud to be an inclusive and diverse football club, and to see one of our players subjected to homophobic abuse is disappointing and upsetting," the club said.

"We will continue to work with the Australian Professional Leagues and Melbourne Victory to identify perpetrators and prosecute them accordingly."

Reuters