STEVE PARISH has claimed Liam Roberts ENDANGERED Jean-Philippe Mateta’s life with his horror challenge.
In-form Crystal Palace hitman Mateta was rushed to the hospital after being on the receiving end of a wild tackle from the Millwall keeper in the first half of the tasty FA Cup fifth-round tie.
Roberts booted the striker in the head as he recklessly cleared the ball with a kung-fu kick of a challenge, which eventually earned him a red card.
Parish couldn’t quite believe his eyes and voiced his frustrations during a mid-match interview with the BBC.
He said: “So far what we know is he’s got a bad gash behind his ear and a head injury. He’s at the hospital so we hope for the best.
“There’s a lot of emotion in football but we need to talk about that challenge.
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“In all the time I’ve watched football, I’ve never seen a challenge like it.
“I looked to see how old the keeper is, he’s 30 years old.
“That is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I’ve ever seen.
“And he needs to have a long, hard look at himself that lad.
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“Because he’s endangering a fellow professional, maybe even his life, with a challenge like that.”
Parish couldn’t quite believe that referee Michael Oliver needed to review the incident before giving Roberts his marching orders.
He continued: “It’s very difficult for me to talk about the rest of the game because we’re worried about JP in hospital. It’s just a terrible, terrible challenge.
“That goalkeeper hasn’t shown a duty of care to another professional.
“Someone mentioned there was one in the 1982 World Cup like it.
“But it’s a dreadful challenge and why the referee needs to go the screen, I’ve no idea.
“Forget about him being a football player, he is a human being. That is not a normal challenge.
“If you’re kicking someone in the head with the full force, God knows what damage has been done to him.”
Palace boss Oliver Glasner was left sickened by the injury, saying: “I didn’t want to see it after the game.
“I didn’t want to watch the injury. I watched it because I knew I had to talk about it.
“It was a very serious foul play. It’s tough to see. I don’t want to watch it again.
“Imagine it could have ended his career. He didn’t want to make such a challenge but his decision to make the challenge was wrong.
“I believe in fair play and all sportsmen don’t want to injure another. His decision with his foot with this intensity was wrong.
Sections of the travelling Millwall support shockingly mocked the injury to Mateta by chanting, “Let him die.”
Palace raced into a 2-0 lead in seven first-half minutes thanks to an own goal from Japhet Tanganga and a strike from Daniel Munoz.
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Ten-man Millwall, however, reduced the arrears in first-half stoppage time through Wes Harding.
The Lions battled valiantly but had their hopes of a quarter-final hopes dashed by a sumptuous header from substitute Eddie Nketiah.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
