Stephen Laybutt: Difference between revisions

| caption = Laybutt training with the [[Newcastle Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]]

| position = [[CentreDefender back(association football)|Defender]]

'''Stephen John Laybutt''' (3 September 1977 – 13 January 2024) was an Australian professional soccer player who played as a [[defender (association football)|defender]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Renee |last=Valentine |title=Dutchy urges understudies to seize the moment |work=[[The Newcastle Herald]] |page=68 |date=7 September 2007}}</ref> Laybutt [[came out]] as [[gay]] in 2021<ref name="Smh">{{Cite web|last=Webster|first=Andrew|date=2021-12-10|title='I want to give you a kidney': The gay Socceroo whose text message saved a life|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/i-want-to-give-you-a-kidney-the-gay-socceroo-whose-text-message-saved-a-life-20211210-p59ghx.html|access-date=2021-12-10|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> and died by suicide in January 2024.<ref name="7news">[https://7news.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-star-stephen-laybutts-cause-of-death-explained-after-going-missing-in-northern-new-south-wales-c-13248546 Socceroos star Stephen Laybutt’s cause of death explained after going missing in northern New South Wales]</ref>

Laybutt was born in Lithgow and played youth football at the [[FFA Centre of Excellence|Australian Institute of Sport]] before starting his senior career with [[Wollongong Wolves FC|Wollongong City]] in 1995.<ref name="europe">{{cite web|url=https://www.rtbf.be/article/l-australien-stephen-laybutt-ancien-joueur-de-mouscron-et-la-gantoise-retrouve-mort-a-46-ans-11313012|website=[[RTBF]]|date=15 January 2024|accessdate=29 January 2024|title=L'Australien Stephen Laybutt, ancien joueur de Mouscron et La Gantoise, retrouvé mort à 46 ans|author=[[Belga (news agency)|Belga]]|lang=fr}}</ref> As well as playing for a number of clubs in the [[National Soccer League]] and [[Newcastle Jets FC|Newcastle Jets]] in the [[A-League]], Laybutt played professionally in Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. He retired from professional football in 2008.{{cn|date<ref name=January 2024}}"europe"/>

He won fifteen [[cap (sport)|cap]]s with the [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australian national team]]. He was also a member of the [[Australia men's national under-23 soccer team|Australian under-23 team]] at the [[Football at the 2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Olympics]] in Sydney.{{cn|date=January<ref 2024}}name="europe"/>

Following his playing career, Laybutt came out as [[gay]]. As of 2021, Laybutt worked in the rehab unit at [[St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney|St Vincent's Hospital]] in Sydney. There, he met patient Ian Pavey, to whom he donated a kidney.<ref>{{Cite web|lastname=Webster|first=Andrew|date=2021-12-10|title='I"Smh" want to give you a kidney': The gay Socceroo whose text message saved a life|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/i-want-to-give-you-a-kidney-the-gay-socceroo-whose-text-message-saved-a-life-20211210-p59ghx.html|access-date=2021-12-10|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref>

Laybutt was reported missing on 13 January 2024 when he could not be contacted after having last been seen the previous night.<ref name=death/> HeLaybutt would bewas seenrecorded on security camera footage at 11:30 AM on the 13th.<ref>[https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/socceroos/body-of-missing-exsocceroo-found-in-nsw-bush-after-frantic-search/news-story/d2e65888bc190dd71ca0f44d35e2e189 Missing Socceroo spotted on CCTV on day he disappeared]</ref> Police discovered hisLaybutt's body on 14 January 2024 in bushland near [[Cabarita Beach, New South Wales]]. Heat wasage 46.,<ref name=death>{{cite news|last=Green|first=Eli|date=15 January 2024|title=Body of missing ex-Socceroo found in NSW bush after frantic search|url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/socceroos/body-of-missing-exsocceroo-found-in-nsw-bush-after-frantic-search/news-story/d2e65888bc190dd71ca0f44d35e2e189|work=news.com.au|location= |access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref> It was determined Laybuttto hadbe taken his own lifeself-inflicted.<ref>[https:// name="7news.com.au/sport/soccer/socceroos-star-stephen-laybutts-cause-of-death-explained-after-going-missing-in-northern-new-south-wales-c-13248546" Socceroos star Stephen Laybutt’s cause of death explained after going missing in northern New South Wales]</ref>

[[Category:Australian LGBTLGBTQ soccer players]]