Crystal Palace vs Millwall: FA consider longer Liam Roberts ban after horror challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta..
Deadline of 1pm on Tuesday for FA to call for more severe punishment than a three-match ban..
The Football Association are mulling over whether to file an appeal calling for Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts to serve a ban longer than three games for his horrific challenge on Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Roberts came flying out of his goal, made slight contact with the ball with a high-kick, but followed through with his studs and caught Mateta in the ear. Mateta was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, and received 25 stitches to his left ear.
Mateta later offered an update where he said he was “doing well” and expected to be back “very soon”. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday evening.
Standard practice is that Roberts will be suspended for three games following his dismissal by referee Michael Oliver in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round match, which Palace won 3-1 at Selhurst Park.
However, the FA have until 1pm on Tuesday to submit an “insufficient punishment” appeal. The appeal would be heard by a Regulatory Commission, and Millwall and Roberts would have until 6pm on Thursday to provide evidence to the Commission as to why they feel the default three-game suspension is “clearly sufficient”.
The FA will now consider whether or not to put forward an appeal and start that process.
If an appeal is made and the FA are successful, it would be up to the Regulatory Commission to decide Roberts’s new punishment.
The Telegraph columnist and ex-referee Keith Hackett, who was the man in the middle for the 1981 FA Cup final, has said he believes a five-game ban is the appropriate course of action.
The challenge made by Roberts was described at half-time by a fuming Steve Parish as the “most reckless challenge on a football pitch I’ve ever seen”, when the Palace chairman spoke to BBC One.
Millwall keeper ‘contacts’ Jean-Philippe Mateta after tackle left him needing 25 stitches
Jean-Philippe Mateta was taken to hospital after being on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was taken to hospital following Millwall keeper Liam Roberts’ tackle (Image: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Millwall keeper Liam Roberts has reportedly reached out to Jean-Philippe Mateta following his reckless tackle that saw the Crystal Palace striker sent to hospital.
Roberts was sent off in the early stages of the match after coming out of his goal to try and win the ball ahead of Mateta. He managed to touch the ball, but his momentum saw his foot collide with Mateta’s head. The severity of the injury was clear as medics hurried onto the field and subsequently took Mateta for treatment.
Despite the incident, Mateta reassured fans from the hospital saying he was ‘doing well’, after receiving 25 stitches for a severe laceration.
Trending
The incident garnered further talk when Palace chairman Steve Parish described it as the ‘worst challenge he’s ever seen’, in a fiery mid-game interview broadcast by the BBC. Palace manager Oliver Glasner was measured but pointed in his comments post-match, stating: “I don’t want to blame him, but it is a terrible foul.”
According to The Mail, Millwall’s manager Alex Neil and chairman James Berylson both checked in on Mateta’s condition following their team’s defeat. Sources also indicated that Roberts had made contact with Mateta, who left the hospital on Saturday evening.
After the scary incident, Palace issued a statement that read: “We are very pleased to confirm that JP Mateta has this evening been discharged from St George’s Hospital where he received specialist treatment and 25 stitches to a severe laceration to his left ear. All scans were clear and JP is feeling well.
