Josh Cavallo spoke after receiving homophobic comments: “Hate will never win”

There are still prejudices in the world and it is difficult to control them. Josh Cavallo is the first active player to publicly declare his homosexuality and, through his social networks, has made it known that he suffered from offenses from the assistants of the duel of his team Adelaide United against Melbourne Victory for the A- League.

“I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t see or hear the homophobic slurs. There are no words to say how disappointed I was. As a society, it shows that we are still facing these problems in 2022. This should not be acceptable and we must do more to hold these people accountable. Hate will never win. Thank you all for the positive messages, love and support, that far outweighs the negativity”, He published on his social networks.

The 22-year-old midfielder, who in October became the only active male professional footballer to come out as gay in one of the world’s major leagues, was insulted by the crowd after entering as a second-half substitute in the tie in AAMI Park (1-1).

Both clubs strongly condemned what happened, while the Australian league intends to punish anyone found involved. “There is no place for bullying, harassment or abuse in Australian football and we have zero tolerance for this harmful behavior“Said Australian Professional Leagues Executive Director Danny Townsend.

In addition, Cavallo asked the social networks Instagram and Twitter to do more in the fight against homophobia. “I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I have received. I really knew, being who I am, that I was going to run into this. It is a sad reality that their platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.”, He pointed.

“I will never apologize for living my truth and for being who I am outside of football. To all the young people who have received homophobic insults, hold your head up and chase your dreams. Soccer is a game for everyone, no matter who you are, what color your skin is or where you come from”, He concluded.