Openly gay footballer Josh Cavallo would ‘fear for life’ at World Cup in Saudi Arabia

Footballer Josh Cavallo has revealed he would not compete in the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia if selected, due to the country’s anti-gay laws.

It is illegal to be gay in Saudi Arabia, punishable by the death penalty.

“I honestly wouldn’t feel safe,” Cavallo told The Mirror.

“There’s certain countries I will not go to and play my club football or play with the national team.

“At the end of the day, it comes to a point where it’s your livelihood over your job which for me is incredibly sad because this is what I do, I wake up and I breathe football, this is what I’m made for.

“To know that I’m limited and stuck in certain countries because they don’t approve of how I love or how I live my life is quite saddening. I wouldn’t want to be entering a space like that at the moment. There’s a lot of improvement that needs to happen before I consider that.”

Cavallo calls for LGBT support from wider football community

Cavallo went on to say that he wanted more support for LGBT rights from the wider international football community.

“Everyone tends to ask me ‘how can we grow football’,” he said. “In the A-Leagues we created a Pride round and that’s something which changed the way that Australians look at football.”

“Not a lot of people overseas are doing the same thing. For me, it’s not just one day that we celebrate, it’s something we consistently think of. It affects people. Clubs should turn around and support LGBT people.

“I know for a fact that there’s professional soccer players who aren’t out and are playing at the highest levels too.

“If we had clubs who say ‘hey actually having the World Cup in Saudi Arabia isn’t right let’s do something to raise awareness and have our voice on it’.

“If Liverpool’s turning around and saying ‘this is not acceptable’, if big clubs like Barcelona are saying something like that, then that’s going to turn heads.

“If I’m going to the World Cup [in 2034], I’m fearing for my life more than the dream I wanted to do as a kid and play in a World Cup. It’s quite frightening.”

Source: qnews.com.au, Sarah Davison, April 25, 2024

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