After making the brave decision to come out as gay last year, Adelaide United's Josh Cavallo has expressed his disappointment after being the target of homophobic abuse.
Cavallo took to social media on Sunday to reveal Saturday night's A-League Men's match against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park saw him subjected to abuse based around his sexuality.
The 22-year-old made worldwide headlines in October 2021 when he publicly announced he was gay in an attempt to ensure other players don't feel the need to hide who they are.
Cavallo came on in the 54th minute against Victory and was forced off late in the game with concussion.
"I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night. There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was," Cavallo wrote on Instagram.
"As a society this it shows we still face these problems in 2022. This shouldn’t be acceptable and we need to do more to hold this 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.
"To @instagram I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I’ve received. 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.
"Thank you to all the positive messages, love and support from people all around the world, seeing that far outweighs the negativity.
"To the individuals that reached out after making a stand at the game. I commend you. Thank you to those fans, you had me emotional."
Fans on social media have called for Victory to take decisive action against any supporters found guilty of the homophobic abuse.
Ban the culprits for life. https://t.co/WxE96o9FSV
— Ben Smith (@BenSmith94) January 9, 2022
Shameful from any @gomvfc fan who does this. I would hope other fans would tell homophobic fans to shut up.
— Guido Tresoldi (@GuidoTresoldi) January 9, 2022
.@gomvfc condemn this unequivocally@gomvfc fans - if you’re legit, you’ll call this out and point it out wherever you hear it @aleaguemen life bans for anyone found guilty of homophobia or racism at A-League games https://t.co/oJtrm4SKKR
— FootballFocusAU (@FootballFocusAU) January 9, 2022
Victory responded to Cavallo's post with a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming they are investigating what happened with bans looming for those involved.
"Melbourne Victory has been made aware of homophobic comments directed towards Adelaide United player, Josh Cavallo during Saturday night’s clash with the Reds at AAMI Park," their club statement read.
"The club is committed to celebrating diversity in football, and strongly condemns this behavior which has no place at our club or in our game.
"Melbourne Victory sees football as a platform to unite fans no matter what background. Spectators found to have breached these standards will be banned from future matches.
"The club is working with the League, Stadium and Adelaide United to investigate the matter further."