MILLWALL goalkeeper Liam Roberts has been hit with an additional three-match ban by the FA.
Roberts was sent off for a horrendous tackle on Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta in the FA Cup last weekend.
Mateta received oxygen on the pitch before being taken to hospital, where he received 25 stitches in his ear.
Roberts was shown a red card by Michael Oliver, who initially did not even award a free-kick.
The keeper was set to serve a three-match ban for dangerous play, but has now been handed a more severe punishment by the FA.
Millwall revealed they were “disappointed” by the decision to extend Roberts’ ban but respect the processes undertaken.
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The FA appealed the usual three-match ban because they believed the nature of the offence mean the standard punishment was “clearly insufficient”.
Mateta was released from hospital after a few hours as outrage grew surrounding the incident.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish declared it “the most reckless tackle I’ve seen”.
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.
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“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 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.
“Because he’s endangering a fellow professional, maybe even his life, with a challenge like that.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
