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“You shouldn't exist” ... “What are you doing here?” ... “Stop breathing.”

Since revealing his homosexuality in 2021, player Josh Cavallo has received daily death threats and hateful comments on social media.

“When I first saw these messages, I was devastated,” Cavallo states. “Nobody should have to endure such words.

“I'm working to improve my skills and be the best I can be on the pitch, and then get put down due to my identity. It's disgusting.”

Player the sportsman was playing for Adelaide United back in 2020 when he became the only openly gay elite soccer player in the world.

Recently he departed from Australia to join lower-tier club Peterborough Sports, who play in front of crowds of about 400 in National League North, one level below of the English soccer system.

The 25-year-old combines playing for the semi-professional team by advocating for inclusion matters and leveraging his platform - he has more than one million followers on Instagram - to champion equality and acceptance.

“Definitely, there's enormous work ahead,” Cavallo comments when asked if football still has a problem with discrimination.

“Rarely a week passes without hearing about an issue.”

‘People want to harm me’

Several years passed for Cavallo to build up the bravery to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on 27 October 2021.

“All I want to do is compete in soccer and be treated equally,” he said in an accompanying video.

The player was twenty-one and building his reputation at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, with the support of his team-mates, he publicly came out.

“The future was uncertain. I didn't know what to expect,” he says. “The moment seemed appropriate in my life. I wanted to take the next step.”

His emotional coming out video, titled ‘His Personal Story’, gained massive attention on social media.

“My mobile phone exploded with encouraging words. It was overwhelming.”

A prominent club were among numerous famous teams around the world to show solidarity with the player, with then manager Jurgen Klopp saying: “I'm really thankful that he did it because it sparks conversation.”

Barcelona defender the athlete also offered support, posting online that “the world of football is far behind and you are helping us move forward”, while his former club issued a statement backing their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Others, however, were less welcoming.

Cavallo soon turned into a target of homophobic abuse by rival supporters.

In January 2022 Melbourne Victory were fined five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from spectators aimed toward Cavallo during a game.

“The comments I encountered were hurtful and disparaging towards my community,” he explains.

“I didn't react because responding would encourage detractors.”

There was a frightening incident at a gas station in Australia, where Cavallo was assaulted by an individual who identified him from the coverage.

“That was a scary moment,” he remembers. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is happening - individuals intend to hurt me’.

“Is it acceptable? Definitely not. But through my disclosure, this is what it brings.

“My wish is that future individuals who comes out while competing in soccer at a professional standard won't face the path I have endured.”

Cavallo says the constant menacing messages and abusive messages have taken a toll on his mental health.

“It's disappointing because I must justify why I deserve a place on the soccer pitch for my identity,” he says.

“We don't sit straight people down and ask ‘why should you exist in football?’.

“A lot of people see me as a cheerful, optimistic person. But sometimes when I rely on my partner, his name, and he gets to see much of what occurs privately.”

‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’

The player's choice to disclose his orientation helped prompt teenage attacking player another athlete to announce he was gay as the Britain's sole publicly out playing soccer professional in May 2022.

However, there are zero publicly LGBTQ athletes in the top English division.

“It would create massive change,” comments the footballer on the impact a elite athlete revealing their orientation would have.

“But I'm not going to sugar-coat it. Numerous frightening aspects that would await this individual. In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a highly hostile environment.”

Over two decades after a pioneering player - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - died by suicide in 1998, Cavallo has spoken about the “toxic masculinity” that still exists in professional soccer.

“You just need to go to a match and see the hostile environment and masculinity that the crowd brings,” he says.

“Much remains to be done to make sure there is a secure environment in football for people like myself and his colleague.

“We haven't seen it (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and strive for eliminating the toxic masculinity in football changing rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘I'm here to create change’

The player says soccer has allowed him to have conversations within team environments about revealing one's orientation.

Yet, he is critical of Fifa, after Qatar, where homosexual partnerships are illegal, hosted the men's World Cup in 2022.

Future World Cup will be held in another Gulf state, where same-sex attraction is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the World Cup is in countries that criminalise same-sex marriages, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for merely living on their territory? It's frightening,” says Cavallo.

“I receive communications [from people living in these countries] saying ‘I face imprisonment for my identity - is assistance possible?’.

“It's devastating that individuals are incarcerated for being who they are.

“Certain nations that are significant soccer markets and they don't accept LGBTQ+ people. Those are the countries that often focus on me.”

Nevertheless, the footballer says he won't cease advocating.

“Football has allowed me to start conversations in the changing room. It has allowed me to speak and educate people who seek understanding.

“Not everyone is going to like you for your identity. But I have found my family. I have found my community.

“My mission is to create change. That's my objective.”