Mar 1, 2025, 08:30 AM ET

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was taken to hospital after a wildly reckless challenge from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts just eight minutes into Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash.

Palace chairman Steve Parish confirmed to the BBC at half-time that Mateta had a gash behind his ear and was at a local hospital receiving further treatment as he expressed his anger at the tackle, which saw Roberts sent off.

Roberts rushed outside the 18-yard box and leaped to clear a long ball but his high left-footed follow-through struck Mateta in the side of the face.

Mateta remained on the ground for several minutes and needed lengthy medical treatment before he was fitted with a neck brace and carried off the field toward an ambulance.

“In all the time I’ve been watching football I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse challenge. If you’re kicking someone in the head then you don’t know what damage may have been done,” Parish said.

The incident happened just eight minutes into the FA Cup fifth-round match. Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

Referee Michael Oliver initially did not even show Roberts a yellow card despite being only a few yards away from the incident but then brandished a straight red after being called over by VAR to review the incident on a pitchside monitor.

“They’re professionals and they have to treat each other like professionals and have a duty of care for your fellow professionals,” Oliver said.

“That keeper has not had one [duty of care]. Credit to the players carrying on and it is difficult for me to think about anything else with JP [Mateta] in hospital.

“In all the time I’ve watched football, someone mentioned there was one like it in the World Cup in 1982.

“Why the referee [Michael Oliver] needed to go to the screen I have got no idea.”

Mateta is Palace’s leading scorer with 12 Premier League goals this season.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.