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

After announcing he was gay in 2021, footballer Josh Cavallo has faced constant threats and abusive messages on social media.

“Upon reading those comments, it broke my heart,” the player explains. “No-one wants to read things like that.

“I'm working to improve my skills and reach my full potential on the pitch, and then get put down due to my identity. It's appalling.”

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

This summer he departed from Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who play in front of crowds of about 400 in National League North, the sixth tier of the English soccer system.

The 25-year-old combines playing for the semi-professional team by speaking up on inclusion matters and leveraging his platform - boasting over a million followers on social media - to champion equality and acceptance.

“Absolutely, we've got mountains to do,” the footballer comments when asked if football still has a problem with discrimination.

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

‘Individuals wish to hurt me’

Several years passed for the athlete to build up the bravery to say “I'm gay” before coming out on 27 October 2021.

“All I want to do is play football and receive fair treatment,” he stated in an accompanying video.

The player was 21 and building his reputation at his Australian club in Australia's top flight when, backed by his colleagues, he publicly came out.

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

His emotional coming out video, entitled ‘Josh's Truth’, went viral on digital platforms.

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

Liverpool were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to express support for Cavallo, with then manager the German manager saying: “I'm really thankful that he took this step because now we talk again.”

Barcelona defender the athlete also offered support, writing on social media that “soccer culture is far behind and you are helping us move forward”, while his former club released a comment backing their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Some people, however, were not so accepting.

Cavallo quickly became a target of homophobic abuse by rival supporters.

During early 2022 Melbourne Victory were penalized A$5,000 over discriminatory chants from fans directed at the player during a match.

“The things I'd hear were hurtful and disparaging towards LGBTQ people,” he explains.

“I remained calm because I knew that would only feed the haters.”

A scary event occurred at a petrol station in Australia, where the athlete was physically attacked by an individual who identified him from the media attention.

“That was a scary moment,” he remembers. “I remember thinking ‘this is happening - people want to harm me’.

“Should this be tolerated? Absolutely not. But through my disclosure, this is what it brings.

“My wish is that future individuals who comes out while playing football at a professional standard doesn't have to experience the path I have endured.”

The player says the constant menacing messages and hostile communications have taken a toll on his mental health.

“It's disappointing because I must justify why I belong on the soccer pitch for being who I am,” 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, positive person. But sometimes when I lean on my fiance, Leighton, 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 17-year-old attacking player another athlete to announce he was gay as the Britain's sole publicly out active male professional footballer in spring 2022.

However, there are no openly gay or bisexual players in the Premier League.

“It would create massive change,” comments Cavallo on the impact a elite athlete coming out would make.

“But I must be honest. There are a lot of scary things that would come this person's way. Within soccer culture, identifying as LGBTQ is a highly hostile environment.”

Over two decades after a pioneering player - the UK's initial out soccer professional - died by suicide in 1998, Cavallo has spoken about the “toxic masculinity” that still exists in professional soccer.

“Simply attend to a match and observe the unfriendly atmosphere and male-dominated culture that the audience creates,” he explains.

“There is still a lot of work to ensure there is a secure environment in soccer for people like myself and his colleague.

“We haven't seen it (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as much as we would like.

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and work towards taking out the toxic masculinity in football changing rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘I'm here to create change’

Cavallo says football has allowed him to have conversations inside dressing rooms about coming out.

However, he is disapproving toward Fifa, after the Middle Eastern nation, where same-sex relationships are illegal, staged the global tournament in 2022.

Future World Cup will be held in another Gulf state, where homosexuality is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the global championship is in nations that criminalise same-sex marriages, where people like me will be imprisoned for merely living on that land? It's scary,” says Cavallo.

“I receive communications [from residents of such nations] saying ‘I face imprisonment for my identity - is assistance possible?’.

“It breaks my heart that people are getting locked up for their true selves.

“Certain nations that are significant soccer markets and they reject the queer community. Those are the countries that tend to target me.”

Despite this, the footballer says he won't cease advocating.

“Soccer has enabled dialogue in the changing room. It has allowed me to speak and educate people who want to learn more.

“Not everyone is going to like you for who you are. But I have found my family. I've connected with similar people.

“My mission is to drive progress. That's my objective.”