Adelaide United left-back Josh Cavallo has branded retired football stars Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol as 'beyond disrespectful' after Casillas posted a tweet jokingly coming out as gay. Cavallo, who came out as gay last October and is the first active top-flight footballer to do so, expressed his disappointment on Twitter.
Cavallo tweeted: '@IkerCasillas and @Carles5puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. It's a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful.'
Casillas initially tweeted 'I hope you respect me: I'm gay,' reportedly to stop rumours about his dating life after splitting from his wife. He later deleted the tweet and claimed his account was hacked, but former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique accused him of lying. Puyol replied to Casillas's tweet with 'It is time to tell our story Iker,' before apologising for a 'clumsy joke'.
Fans criticised the pair, with one tweeting: 'Homosexuality is not something to 'joke' about in any context. And to do so as two footballing legends with enormous platforms, is so tone deaf it beggars belief.' Another said: 'High profile, grown men using being gay as a punchline only making it harder for their gay colleagues to be able to come out is disgusting.'
