Stephen John Laybutt (3 September 1977 – 13 January 2024) was an Australian professional soccer player who played as a defender. Laybutt came out as gay in 2021. He died by suicide in January 2024.

Early life and career

Laybutt was born in Lithgow and played youth football at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

before starting his senior career with

Wollongong City Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wat ...

in 1995. As well as playing for a number of clubs in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

and Newcastle Jets in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

, Laybutt played professionally in Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. He retired from professional football in 2008. He won fifteen caps with the Australian national team. He was also a member of the Australian under-23 team at the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney. Laybutt was released by Dutch side Feyenoord in January 2002 to return to Australia, following a loan spell at Lyn Oslo, due to a lack of first team opportunities. In January 2008, Laybutt suffered an

achilles tendon rupture Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture typica ...

, ruling him out for the remainder of the

2008–09 A-League The 2008–09 A-League was the 32nd season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the fourth season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentativ ...

Personal life and death

Following his playing career, Laybutt came out as gay. As of 2021, Laybutt worked in the rehab unit at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. There, he met patient Ian Pavey, to whom he donated a kidney. Laybutt was reported missing on 13 January 2024 when he could not be contacted after having last been seen the previous night. He would be seen on security camera footage at 11:30 AM on the 13th. Police discovered his body on 14 January 2024 in bushland near

Cabarita Beach, New South Wales Cabarita Beach is a town in northeastern New South Wales which occupies a thin strip of beach-side land along the Coral Sea coast, east of Tweed Coast Road, in the Tweed Shire town of Bogangar. Locally, the names Cabarita Beach and Bogangar ...

. He was 46. It was determined Laybutt had taken his own life.Socceroos star Stephen Laybutt’s cause of death explained after going missing in northern New South Wales
/ref>

Honours

Sydney Olympic Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club, based in Belmore, New South Wales, Belmore, Sydney, New South Wales, that plays in the National Premier Leagues NSW. The Club was founded as Pan- ...

* NSL Championship: 2001–20 Newcastle Jets *

Championship: 2007–08

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

* OFC Nations Cup:

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

References

External links

Oz Football profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laybutt, Stephen 1977 births 2024 deaths 2024 suicides People from Lithgow, New South Wales Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian gay sportsmen Australian LGBT soccer players Australian men's soccer players Soccer players from New South Wales Men's association football defenders Australia men's international soccer players Olympic soccer players for Australia 2000 OFC Nations Cup players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2004 OFC Nations Cup players OFC Nations Cup-winning players A-League Men players National Soccer League (Australia) players J1 League players Eredivisie players Belgian Pro League players Eliteserien players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Wollongong Wolves FC players Brisbane Strikers FC players Shonan Bellmare players Parramatta Power SC players Feyenoord players RBC Roosendaal players Lyn Fotball players Sydney Olympic FC players Royal Excel Mouscron players K.A.A. Gent players Newcastle Jets FC players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Australian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Australian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Suicides in New South Wales