Jean-Philippe Mateta Opens Up On Millwall Horror Challenge

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta revealed that he initially wanted to continue playing despite suffering a severe ear injury during his team’s FA Cup victory over Millwall.

The injury occurred following a shocking challenge from Millwall goalkeeper, Liam Roberts, who was sent off as a result.

Mateta required 25 stitches and was subsequently taken to the hospital after Palace secured a 3-1 win in the fifth-round match.

However, Mateta said he was unaware of the extent of his injuries and had wanted to play on before being told otherwise by club doctors.

“When he kicked me, I was on the floor waiting for him to get the red card,” Mateta told Sky Sports News. “I was good to go. I thought: ‘Just get the blood off and keep going.’

“I was arguing with the doctor for 30 seconds, saying I wanted to play. The doctor saw the injury, but I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t feel pain.

“The blood, for sure. But I thought it was a little cut. My ear was like this [dangling]. But it was not painful.”

Although Michael Oliver initially showed a red card to Roberts after reviewing the pitchside monitors, the goalkeeper later faced a six-match ban for the dangerous high kick and was also subjected to online abuse.

Mateta, however, expressed that he holds no grudges against Roberts, who reached out to him after the match to apologize for the incident.

“Liam contacted me and texted me while I was in hospital and I told him: ‘It is OK, it is football,’” Mateta said. “He apologized. He was worried.”

“I don’t think he woke up and thought I wanted to cut the head of JP. 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.”

Mateta, who has scored 15 goals in 33 appearances for Palace across all competitions this season, has begun individual training, although no timeline has been established for his return.

The 27-year-old is focused on the FA Cup quarter-final match against Fulham scheduled for March 29.

“Hopefully, I can play [against Fulham],” he said. “Hopefully, they can see me. I’m on the ground every day … I need to wear a mask; I need to wear something. I will take the best one that is most comfortable.”