By Will Scott at Selhurst Park
ALEX Neil disagreed with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish’s assessment that Liam Roberts’ red-card challenge on Jean-Phillipe Mateta during the Eagles’ 3-1 FA Cup Fifth Round win against Millwall was “the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I’ve ever seen” and that Roberts needs to have “a long hard look at himself”.
Roberts was dismissed in the seventh minute after rushing out of his box to clear a ball over the top – getting to the ball first but following through and kicking Mateta painfully in the head, with the French striker having to be stretchered off the pitch.
After a brief VAR check referee Michael Oliver issued a red card to the goalkeeper – and ten-men Millwall would go on to concede two soft first-half goals en route to getting knocked out of the FA Cup.
Parish told the BBC at half-time: “So far what we know is he’s got a bad gash behind his ear and a head injury.
“Obviously he’s at the hospital, we hope for the best. There’s a lot of emotion in football but we need to talk about that challenge. In all the time I’ve watched football, I’ve never seen a challenge like it. I looked to see how old the keeper was – he’s 30 years old.
“That is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I’ve ever seen. I think he needs to have a long hard look at himself that lad, because he’s endangering a fellow professional, maybe even his life with a challenge like that.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about the rest of the game because we’re worried about JP and it’s just a terrible, terrible challenge.”
“They’re all professionals out there, they’ve got to treat each other like professionals and have a duty of care to their fellow professionals. That goalkeeper hasn’t had one. Credit to the players for carrying on, but it’s difficult for me to think about anything else at the moment with JP in hospital.
“In all the time I’ve watched football… somebody mentioned there was one in the World Cup in 1982 like it. It’s a dreadful challenge.”
Palace confirmed later on Saturday Mateta had been released from hospital after needing 25 stitches in his ear.
Millwall boss Alex Neil disagreed with Parish after the game.
“What’s happened is Liam’s come out, he’s tried to get the ball, he’s mistimed it, he’s caught the lad,” Neil said. “There’s no more than that from my perspective. I completely disagree with that.
“He’s certainly not intended to hurt the player or anything like it. Obviously we wish Mateta the best and hope he gets back on the pitch. I don’t know how bad it is or how bad it isn’t. I’ll be honest with you.
“At the time I actually thought he might make contact with the ball. I haven’t seen it back. But the fact is, if he’s caught him and he deserves to be sent off, it’s a sending off.
“But it’s certainly no more than that. I don’t agree with the fact that he’s went out and intended to try and hurt the player. It was five minutes into the game. I don’t agree with that at all.”
VAR was also required for Crystal Palace’s second goal, where the linesman initially ruled that Daniel Munoz was offside before the replay showed the ball came off a Millwall player and the goal was given.
Today’s loss was the first match Millwall have played in featuring VAR, and Neil thinks the technology was used well.
“The sending off, the lad has mistimed his tackle, he’s caught the player and if he deserved to be sent off then fine that that’s how it’s panned out and ultimately that’s cost us the game,” Neil said. “I’m not suggesting the game would’ve been massively different otherwise, but you’re down to ten men. The game took a completely different turn than where I think it would’ve been if we were eleven men each.
“Then the one where you’re saying it’s caught us out, if we clear the ball off our own player, it probably deserves to go on the net. So I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s caught us out. If he’s onside, he’s onside, so I’m fine with that.”
