Football team fined over fans subjecting Josh Cavallo to homophobic abuse

27th January 2022

The Melbourne Victory football club has been fined over the death threats and abuse Josh Cavallo received from their fans at a recent game.

On 8 January, Adelaide United played an away game against the team.

During the match’s second half, spectators spewed homophobic remarks at Cavallo – with some being removed and the team promising to “ban any individuals identified as having engaged in the conduct” from future games.

Shortly after the game, the 22-year-old condemned the abuse in a lengthy post on Instagram.

“I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t see or hear the homophobic abuse at the game last night,” he wrote. “There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was.”

Cavallo continued: “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.”

As a result of the player’s ordeal, Football Australia (the country’s governing body of the sport) announced on 25 January that Melbourne Victory has been fined $5,000 AUD (£2,640).

James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, said: “We look at all incidents on a case-by-case basis and take into consideration the totality of the situation and behaviours. This is not a situation where the Club has been sitting on its hands. The Club provided a detailed submission, and it has taken a strong stance against anti-social behaviour – both by its actions before and after this incident.”

He praised Cavallo “for his courage in calling out this unacceptable behaviour and the Club for its swift and strong response. In issuing the sanction Football Australia is warning all participants and fans of the need to work together to ensure everyone can freely participate in our sport regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ability or disability, cultural or religious background.”

In an open letter and video posted on 27 October, Cavallo made history by announcing that he is gay – making him the world’s only out gay male top-flight professional footballer.