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

Since revealing he was gay in 2021, player the athlete has received daily death threats and abusive messages on online platforms.

“Upon reading those comments, it broke my heart,” 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 during matches, and then face criticism due to my identity. It's disgusting.”

Midfielder Cavallo was at Adelaide United back in 2020 when he became the only openly gay top-flight male professional footballer in the world.

This summer he left Australia to join non-league Peterborough Sports, who compete before audiences of about 400 in the sixth division, one level below of English football.

The 25-year-old 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 inclusion.

“Definitely, there's enormous work ahead,” Cavallo says 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 the athlete to work up the courage to say “I'm gay” before revealing his sexuality on 27 October 2021.

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

Cavallo was 21 and making a name for himself at Adelaide United in Australia's top flight when, with the support of his team-mates, he announced his orientation publicly.

“I didn't know what was ahead. I had no expectations,” he recalls. “The moment seemed appropriate in my life. I wanted to take the next step.”

The heartfelt revelation clip, titled ‘His Personal Story’, went viral on digital platforms.

“My phone was flooded with encouraging words. It was overwhelming.”

A prominent club were one of many high-profile clubs around the world to express support for the player, with then manager the German manager saying: “I appreciate that he took this step because now we talk again.”

Barcelona defender the athlete also expressed backing, posting online that “soccer culture is lagging behind and you are helping us move forward”, while his former club issued a statement supporting their “remarkable” and “courageous” player.

Some people, however, were not so accepting.

The footballer soon turned into a target of homophobic abuse by opposition fans.

During early 2022 a competing team were penalized A$5,000 over discriminatory chants from fans aimed toward the player during a match.

“The comments I encountered were painful and derogatory towards LGBTQ people,” he explains.

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

A scary event occurred at a petrol station in Australia, where the athlete was physically attacked by someone who recognised him from the coverage.

“It was terrifying,” he recalls. “The thought crossed my mind ‘this is real - people want to harm me’.

“Is it acceptable? Absolutely not. But by coming out, this is what it brings.

“I hope that the next person who comes out while competing in soccer at a professional standard won't face the journey I have endured.”

The player says the daily death threats and hostile communications have affected his mental health.

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

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

“A lot of people see me as a smiling, positive person. But there are days when I rely on my partner, Leighton, and he witnesses much of what occurs privately.”

‘Premier League player coming out would move mountains’

The player's choice to disclose his orientation helped inspire 17-year-old Blackpool forward Jake Daniels to announce he was gay as the UK's only openly gay active male professional footballer in spring 2022.

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

“It would create massive change,” says Cavallo on the effect a Premier League player revealing their orientation would make.

“But I'm not going to sugar-coat it. There are a lot of scary things that would come this person's way. In the world of football, identifying as LGBTQ is a highly hostile environment.”

Twenty-seven years after Justin Fashanu - Britain's first openly gay male footballer - took his own life in 1998, the current athlete has spoken about the “harmful male culture” that still exists in professional soccer.

“Simply attend to a match and observe the hostile environment and male-dominated culture that the crowd brings,” he explains.

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

“We haven't seen it (more players coming out) as frequently as desired.

“I can only keep pushing for what I think is right, 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 coming out.

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

Future World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, where same-sex attraction is similarly prohibited.

“Am I impressed that the global championship is in nations that ban gay unions, where individuals like myself will be imprisoned for merely living on that land? It's scary,” says Cavallo.

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

“It's devastating that people are getting locked up for being who they are.

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

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

“Soccer has allowed me to start conversations in the changing room. It lets me communicate and inform individuals who want to learn more.

“Not everyone is going to like you for your identity. But I've discovered support. I've connected with similar people.

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