Melbourne Victory could face sanctions after Football Australia issued a ‘show cause’ notice to the club on Saturday following the homophobic abuse directed at Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo by fans in an A-League match last week.
Cavallo, who last year became the only out gay
professional top-flight men’s footballer in the world, called out the abuse on Instagram, saying he had “no words” to describe his disappointment.
Adelaide and Victory released statements shortly after Cavallo’s post, condemning the abuse and said they were working with the Australian Professional Leagues to investigate.
Football Australia said it would consider the club’s initial response and any other measures it takes before making a decision regarding the incident, which involved a “small contingent” of Victory supporters.
“I want to reiterate that this conduct is unwelcome in football,” Football Australia CEO James Johnson said in a statement.
“Everyone should be able to enjoy participating in our sport regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ability or disability, cultural or religious background.
“I want to applaud Josh for his courage in calling out this behaviour. I also welcome the strong responses from Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, the Australian Professional Leagues, and the broader football community towards this incident.”
Victory have until 5pm local time (6am GMT) on January 18 to respond to the notice.
‘Josh continues to show immense courage’
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the incident, Adelaide chief executive Nathan Kosmina said the club has a zero-tolerance approach over homophobic abuse, praising Cavallo for the bravery he continues to show.
“Adelaide United is proud to be an inclusive and diverse football club and to see one of our players subjected to homophobic abuse is disappointing and upsetting,” Kosmina said.
“Josh continues to show immense courage and we join him in calling out abuse, which has no place in society, and it will not be tolerated by our club.”
Cavallo: Football must change to become welcoming for LGBT+ players
Cavallo spoke to Sky Sports News in October after coming out publicly as gay and believed his decision was a time for football to “change” and become a more welcoming environment for LGBT+ players.
He said: “I want to get a message across to the world to show that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe in or what culture or background you come from, everyone is accepted in football. It should be based on your talent not on what you look like or believe in.
“At the end of the day, we are in 2021 and it’s time to change this in football. To have this day today, I’m so overwhelmed and happy with the response I’ve received.
“I was very shocked and taken aback by the fact that the news went around the world. I am so honoured and grateful that clubs are getting around me, players are getting around me and I’ll get round to replying to everyone eventually, I am grateful for your support so thank you everyone.
“I struggled a lot not being able to look up to someone and knowing that no one has done this before so it was hard for me to come out and it took me about six years. So I understand the pain, I know what it feels like to be in the shadows and live a double life and lie to the people that you care about.”
bet365 sport. To add to the In-Play excitement, bet365 stream over hundreds of events live to your PC every year. So you can bet as the action unfolds. See all upcoming sport events you can bet at bet experts. Highlights include Masters Series Tennis tournaments and matches from some of the top domestic Soccer leagues in the world. To use the Live Streaming service you need to be log in and have a funded account. Or to have place a bet in the last 24 hours. Any fixture/event on bet365 website and bet365 mobile which has the Play or Video icon is schedule to be show via Live Streaming. bet bg
Make your bet365 registration. Enjoy a unique experience with bet365 and bet365 mobile!
Our forecasts for upcoming meetings have been carefully examine and provide in good faith, but with no guaranteed earnings. We advise you to gamble responsibly and only with the money you can afford to lose.
✅ Registration at bet365 | Account verification | Deposit money | Sports Betting | How to bet | Live Betting | Watch Live Stream | Offers, Bonuses and Promotions| Casino | Poker
18+ | Gamble Responsibly | BeGambleAware.org