Dundalk confirm suspended goalkeeper George Shelvey has left the club

Earlier this month, Shelvey was found to have abused referee Rob Harvey following Dundalk's 2-1 Louth derby defeat to Drogheda.

Wed, 29 May, 2024 - 21:10

PJ Browne

Dundalk have confirmed that goalkeeper George Shelvey, who was serving a 10-match ban, has left the club by mutual consent.

The 23-year-old joined Dundalk on a permanent deal from Nottingham Forest in February and went on to make nine appearances.

Earlier this month, Shelvey was found to have abused referee Rob Harvey following Dundalk's 2-1 Louth derby defeat to Drogheda. Shelvey, who was sent off after the final whistle, called Harvey "an Irish c***". An independent disciplinary committee of the FAI sanctioned Shelvey for being "in breach of the FAI regulations on Racism/Discrimination".

Shelvey had attended that hearing, where, according to the club, he "explained that he deeply regrets the language that he used towards the referee".

“While George realised very quickly that he had used inappropriate language, he did not, at first, comprehend the discriminatory aspect of his words," Dundalk added.

“However, having discussed the matter with club officials he now fully accepts that his words were not only offensive, but also discriminatory."

Dundalk had vowed to "work with George to develop his understanding of these issues".

On Wednesday, Dundalk said that after "conversations" with Shelvey, they had "agreed to mutually end the player’s contract with the club."

Shelvey had been drafted into the Nottingham Forest first team squad for the 2022/23 season. While at Forest, he also had loan spells with Truro City, Wealdstone, and Mansfield.

Upon signing the goalkeeper, then manager Stephen O'Donnell said Shelvey was "a player we have been looking at for a long time" and that he had "been in and around a Premier League environment, trained with many top keepers and is at a good age to establish a career for himself so we are looking for him to come in and make a big impact."