Shelvey: There was no racist tirade - I do not feel guilty
JONJO Shelvey maintains he has a clear conscience after a heated exchange against Wolves last season earned him a five-game ban.
The Newcastle United star was accused of a racist verbal volley directed at Romain Saiss during the 2-0 loss for Newcastle at St James’ Park.
After the game, in which Vurnon Anita was sent off, Wolves players reported Shelvey to the referee Tim Robinson for allegedly calling Saiss “smelly Arab c***”.
This was swiftly denied, with Rafa Benitez telling the official Shelvey had used the word “smelly-breathed pr***” in response to losing his temper after the alopecia sufferer had been taunted over his condition.
Shelvey was also fully supported by Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic during the FA enquiry.
And after being asked about the FA’s decision to ban him for five games and fined him £100,000, Shelvey maintains he is innocent.
Speaking at the club’s new kit launch at Sports Direct in Dublin, Shelvey was asked if he’d learned from the incident.
He said: “No because I didn’t JONJO Shelvey says he couldn’t be in better shape going into the new Premier League season. The England international midfielder stuck with the Magpies after relegation and has now earned the say what it was printed out to be.
“If it was in any court of law, I would have been found not guilty. It just goes on the panel’s verdict.
“You just have to deal with it and get on with it.”
But Shelvey was grateful to his team-mates and Benitez for their support on the issue last season.
Talking about the period in which he missed the ban, Shelvey said: “With any manager that sticks by you - you’re buzzing.
“It could have gone either way with the club. chance to show any doubters that he is still very much top-flight material.
Shelvey spent three weeks in a personal training camp in Portugal in order to be prepared for the challenge of returning to the Premier League.
Speaking at a kit launch at Dublin’s new Sports Direct store, Shelvey
“They could have thrown me by the wayside.
“But they stuck by me, they believed in me and I feel like I repaid them with my performances as soon as I got back on the pitch.
“I’ve just got to keep continuing to do that.
“The manager obviously thinks enough of me to keep me at the club and play me, so the main thing I need to do now is to repay him.
“I was lucky that it was over the time that we had a lot of games.
“Rafa gave me Christmas off so I went back home and spent it with my family.
“Then I came back up on Boxing Day to watch the game.
“It was more a case of supporting the team off the pitch because we were in a good position.
“Then I came up on Boxing Day and we got beat by Sheffield Wednesday.
“I was sitting in the stands and it was just horrible to watch when you know you can’t help your team.”
Shelvey is also undaunted on whether the case will sway the mind of Gareth Southgate when it comes to an England call-up next season.
The midfielder made it clear he still harbours a strong desire to pull on the national shirt again.
And when asked about his England prospects, he said: “I don’t know, to be honest with you, you’ll have to ask the people at England.
“They can believe what they want to believe. It’s down to them at the end of the day.” said: “I feel a lot better, a lot fitter, a lot sharper, and that was the main aim for me going into this season, making sure I was ready and prepared.
“Last year I had a trainer, but this year I just went away and did my own bit.
“I was doing a lot of running, 5k in the morning and then an intense session in the afternoon, and then in the evening before bed I’d do another 5k, so it was more of a case of ticking over because I’d lost that initial weight that I needed to lose. It was maintaining.
“I’ve been everywhere. I went to Mykonos straight after the season with my wife and had a week of just doing nothing.
“Then I went to Vegas with my wife and had a week of hard training!
“I came back and went to Orlando with the kids and a Disney cruise. I