Crystal Palace’s star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has opened up about his surprising compassion for Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts, who landed a wild kick to his head in an FA Cup match earlier this month.
The gruesome clash left Mateta with a gashed ear requiring 25 stitches, but the forward refuses to hold a grudge.
Roberts, slapped with a six-game suspension, faced fierce criticism, with Palace chairman Steve Parish calling it the “most reckless challenge” he’d ever witnessed. Yet Mateta sees it differently, chalking it up to the chaos of the game.
“Liam contacted me and texted me while I was in hospital and I told him, ‘it is OK, it is football’,” Mateta said in an interview with Sky Sports. “He apologised. He was worried.”
The 15-goal striker, a standout in 33 appearances this season, is back in training and eyeing a return for the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham on March 29, complete with a protective mask.
“I don’t think he woke up and thought I want to cut the head of JP,” Mateta added. “There is a lot of pressure. He wanted to do good, too much emotion makes you do crazy things. It was just a mistake. You learn from it.”
