In the midst of a ban for misconduct, the creative midfielder may be living up to his doppelganger, He Who Must Not Be Named.
West Ham United supporters may have predicted the future. Before you close out this story, let me explain. Back in 2013, Jonjo Shelvey was a young midfielder for Liverpool. During a match at Anfield against West Ham, traveling fans of The Hammers chanted a warning to fictional hero Harry Potter as Shelvey stretched on the sideline. “Harry Potter, he’s coming for you!” The hilarious jab was due to Shelvey’s resemblance to Potter’s long time nemesis, Voldemort.
For those of you unfamiliar with the record setting book and film franchise, Voldemort, aka He Who Must Not Be Named, is the antagonist throughout. I mean spoiler alert, the character killed Harry Potter’s parents for crying out loud.
Now I’m not saying Jonjo Shelvey is evil, or a bad person. But, as he sits out a five match ban for misconduct, alleged racial comments, the comparison between the two has never been closer. As of now, both are looked at in a negative light. Voldemort, for being a merciless villian, and Shelvey for racial misconduct.
In all seriousness, Jonjo will need to be on his best behavior once he returns, and more importantly, show that he doesn’t truly have racist thoughts. Being accused of misconduct in general is not good, but one involving race is a step worse. There is no spell to make people forget about that. Racism is a very negative stigma. To prove he is not the Voldemort of the soccer world, Shelvey will need to show he has a good heart, and these allegations were a one time thing. So for those Harry Potter fans, be more Gryffindor than Slytherin.