Adelaide United's Josh Cavallo has quit the club after alleging internal homophobia led to his benching. The 26-year-old made history as Australia's first out gay professional player in 2021. Cavallo played for Adelaide United from 2021 to May 2025, after which he relocated to England to join Peterborough Sports Football Club. In a January 12 Instagram post, the athlete wrote that Adelaide United's decision to keep him on the bench for the entire 2024-2025 season was made 'not because of my talent, but because of who I choose to love.' Cavallo had previously been recognized for his work on the field, named the A-League Rising Star for the 2020/2021 season. He recalled one particular instance in which he saw a group chat of his teammates 'mocking a picture of me and my partner,' which 'only added to this heartache.' Cavallo's fiancé, Leighton Morrell, responded in a comment of his own writing, 'Proud of you. Even though this post doesn't really do justice to how heavy that time actually was to live through.' In a January 13 statement responding to Cavallo's post, Adelaide United wrote that it 'categorically rejects the allegations, including any suggestion that Adelaide United is homophobic.' Cavallo previously opened up about being an out gay player during a March 2025 appearance on the podcast Footballers Unfiltered, sharing that 'there's multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily, still.'