Wednesday October 27, 2021
“I’m incredibly happy for him”
Cavallos coming-out moves German football
By Stephan Uersfeld
In Australia, 21-year-old professional soccer player Josh Cavallo announced that he was gay. The response is huge. He receives a lot of encouragement. Also in Germany. “This is a great step,” says Alexander Wehrle, managing director of 1. FC Köln, in an interview with ntv.de. But the road to normality is long.
There were only a few words. They were well chosen, they unfold a huge force. “I’m a footballer and I’m gay,” said Australian pro Josh Cavallo in a video statement broadcast on social media early Wednesday, European time. “Every young person who struggles with their identity or feels excluded can look to Josh Cavallo today,” said the opposition leader in the Australian parliament, ALP Senator Penny Wong. “Thanks for your courage, Josh. For reminding everyone that we are strong and that we are here.”
The popularity of the 21-year-old midfielder is enormous and extends far beyond the fifth continent. “This is a great step by Joshua Cavallo. The reactions show that we are on the right track when it comes to homophobia in football,” said Alexander Wehrle, managing director of Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln, in an interview with ntv.de. “The fact that this news from Australia generates such a large media echo also shows that we have not yet got where we want to be: namely with normal interaction.” German football has been working on this for years.
“I’m incredibly happy for Josh Cavallo,” said Christian Rudolph, the federal chairman of the LSVD (Lesbian and Gay Association Germany) and DFB representative for LGBTQ issues in professional and amateur football, in an interview with ntv.de. “The video is tremendously powerful. You can see how a great load falls from his shoulders. He wants to live his life and there is nothing more important: we should always keep an eye on people.”
The 13th footballer
After coming out, Cavallo is the only openly gay professional footballer in a country’s top division worldwide. Occasionally, in recent years, players from the lower classes have dared to speak publicly about their homosexuality, but nothing happened in the top leagues for a long time. Justin Fashanu of the English Premier League club West Ham United was the first professional footballer to come out in 1990 during his playing career. He broke it and later took his own life. In total, only 13 footballers worldwide have acknowledged their homosexuality during their careers. Former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger dared to take this step shortly after the end of his playing career.
Cavallo hopes his move into the public eye will open doors for other players as well. No matter whether in Australia or in other countries. “I know there are other players out there who haven’t dared to stand out. I want to help change that,” he wrote in a statement released at the same time as the video broadcast by his club Adelaide United. The 21-year-old could be sure of the support of his immediate environment. “I’m not surprised that it happened in Australia. You can tell that the league there, but also the leagues in other countries such as England or the USA, are much more active. That they have been dealing with the topic for much longer,” says Rudolph.
In Germany, these structures still have to be created. A queer network in football is to be created. One that also addresses people outside the limelight and creates an environment in which coming out is not a sensation, but rather normal. It affects referees, club employees, board members and other officials.
The new generation gives hope
“If a footballer wishes to come out, the person should know that they are supported by the association, but also by the club,” says Rudolph. “How is a footballer supposed to come out when there is nobody else in the whole sporting environment, not in the offices or on the sidelines, who are there as a role model or contact person?”
Wehrle, who has been a member of the DFL Presidium since 2019, also takes football to the task. “The clubs, the leagues, but also the associations should ensure that everyone feels ready to take this step and can do it without this huge excitement. We have been committed to this at 1. FC Köln for years. We have been for years represented at Christoper Street Day. Our charter also says: Be who you are and love who you want. ”
Rudolph identified the general lack of structures as one of the core problems. “We still don’t care enough about people. We don’t prepare people for what happens when they suddenly appear in public. The players go to academies at 14 or 15, but nobody tells them what’s left of them This applies to all forms of discrimination, “he says. “Nobody can guess what this public means for the life of every individual.”
In addition to the background work, Rudolph has great hopes for the new generation of players and officials. Having grown up in a different media environment, this generation presents itself to the new, colorful normal every day as a matter of course in their social networks. “The new generation has completely different platforms and this generation is only now beginning to express its personal opinions.”