Millwall set to fight FA bid to extend Roberts ban for Mateta tackle
Millwall are expected to contest the Football Association’s push for goalkeeper Liam Roberts to be given an extended ban for his challenge on Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The FA has asked a regulatory commission to increase Roberts’ ban from the standard three-match sanction for serious foul play on the grounds that it was “clearly insufficient”.
Roberts was shown a red card after eight minutes of Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round match between the south London sides for a high challenge outside the penalty area that left Mateta needing 25 stitches to a lacerated ear.
Palace chairman Steve Parish led condemnation of the incident, calling the challenge “the most reckless I’ve ever seen” and accusing Roberts of endangering Mateta’s life.
Millwall have since hit back at “disgraceful suggestions” that their player intended to hurt Mateta, calling it “an unwarranted character assassination” that had fuelled “abhorrent online abuse”.
“No player at Millwall Football Club steps onto the pitch with the intent to harm another, and the club will continue to support Liam, who reached out to Jean-Philippe personally on Saturday evening with an apology which was accepted immediately,” the Championship club added.
Millwall fans showed their support for Roberts during Tuesday’s match with Bristol City, applauding during the eighth minute and singing “there’s only one Liam Roberts”.
The FA has previously succeeded with some claims for extended bans, with Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic suspended for eight games for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh in 2023.
English football’s longest bans for on-field challenges include the eight-match sanction handed out to Ben Thatcher in 2006 and Richard Dunne’s six-match suspension in 2008.
Roberts was only sent off as a result of a VAR review, after referee Michael Oliver initially took no action over the Millwall player charging out of his goal and clearing both ball and man.