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

After announcing he was gay in 2021, player the athlete has faced constant threats and hateful comments on social media.

“Upon reading those comments, I was devastated,” Cavallo explains. “No-one wants to read things like that.

“I'm trying to get better as a player and be the best I can be on the pitch, and then get put down because of who I am. It's disgusting.”

Player Cavallo was at Adelaide United four years ago when he became the only openly gay top-flight male professional footballer in the world.

Recently he left Australia to join lower-tier club Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in National League North, the sixth tier of the English soccer system.

This young athlete balances his sports career for the semi-professional team by speaking up on LGBTQ+ issues and leveraging his platform - he has more than one million followers on Instagram - to champion equality and acceptance.

“Absolutely, there's enormous work ahead,” Cavallo says when questioned about ongoing issues with homophobia.

“Rarely a week passes without encountering problems.”

‘People want to harm me’

Several years passed for the athlete to work up the courage to say “I am homosexual” before revealing his sexuality on October 27th, 2021.

“All I want to do is play football and be treated equally,” he stated in an related clip.

Cavallo was 21 and building his reputation at his Australian club in the premier division when, backed by his colleagues, he announced his orientation publicly.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I didn't know what to expect,” he says. “It felt like the right time in my life. I needed to move forward.”

His emotional coming out video, titled ‘Josh's Truth’, gained massive attention on digital platforms.

“My phone was flooded with encouraging words. The response was incredible.”

Liverpool were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to show solidarity with the player, with then manager the German manager saying: “I appreciate 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 your actions drive progress”, while his former club issued a statement backing their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Some people, however, were less welcoming.

The footballer quickly became a target of anti-gay remarks by opposition fans.

During early 2022 a competing team were penalized five thousand dollars over discriminatory chants from fans aimed toward the player during a match.

“The comments I encountered were hurtful and derogatory towards my community,” he says.

“I didn't react because I knew that would only feed the haters.”

There was a frightening incident at a petrol station in Australia, where the athlete was physically attacked by someone who recognised him from the media attention.

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

“Should this be tolerated? Absolutely not. But by coming out, this is what it brings.

“I hope that future individuals who reveals their orientation while competing in soccer at a professional standard doesn't have to experience the path I have experienced.”

The player says the daily death threats and abusive messages have affected his mental health.

“It's disappointing because I am having to explain why I deserve a place on the soccer pitch for being who I am,” he says.

“Heterosexual players aren't questioned and ask ‘what gives you the right in football?’.

“A lot of people see me as a smiling, optimistic person. But sometimes when I lean on my fiance, Leighton, and he witnesses much of what occurs behind the scenes.”

‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’

The player's choice to reveal his sexuality helped prompt teenage Blackpool forward another athlete to come out as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in May 2022.

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

“It would create massive change,” says the footballer on the effect a elite athlete coming out would make.

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

Over two decades after a pioneering player - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - took his own life in 1998, the current athlete has discussed the “harmful male culture” that still exists in men's football.

“Simply attend to a game and observe the unfriendly atmosphere and male-dominated culture that the crowd brings,” he says.

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

“Progress has been limited (additional athletes revealing their orientation) as frequently as desired.

“I can only keep pushing for principles I believe in, and strive for taking out the toxic masculinity in soccer locker rooms and establishing secure environments.”

‘My mission is to drive progress’

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

However, he is disapproving toward soccer's global governing body, after the Middle Eastern nation, where same-sex relationships are against the law, hosted the men's World Cup in 2022.

Future World Cup will be held in another Gulf state, where homosexuality is also illegal.

“Do I approve that the World Cup is in nations that ban gay unions, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for merely living on their territory? It's frightening,” says the athlete.

“I receive communications [from people living in these countries] saying ‘I'm about to be put in prison for my identity - can you help me?’.

“It's devastating that individuals are incarcerated for their true selves.

“There are countries that are huge in terms of football and they don't accept the queer community. Those are the countries that tend to target me.”

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

“Soccer has allowed me to start conversations in the locker 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've discovered support. I have found my community.

“My mission is to drive progress. That's what I'm here for.”