Millwall boss disagrees with angry Crystal Palace chief over Mateta incident

Millwall manager Alex Neil disagrees with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish after his claim that Liam Roberts' 'life-endangering' kick on Jean-Philippe Mateta was the 'most reckless challenge he's ever seen'.

Palace striker Mateta had be rushed to hospital after Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts clattered him with a kung-fu kick to the head. At half-time of the FA Cup fifth-round clash at Selhurst Park, Parish gave an interview to the BBC, slamming Roberts and referee Michael Oliver, who needed a VAR review to send him off.

But Neil, whose side suffered a 3-1 defeat to their south London rivals after being reduced to 10 men in the eighth minute, disagreed with Parish' furious verdict. The Millwall boss explained to BBC Sport: "I think the ball went in behind, Liam Roberts has come out which he has done in many games he's played, he's misjudged it and caught the lad.

"He has mistimed it, he got sent off which at that stage made the game doubly difficult for us. I don't think it is meant. I don't think there is any intent, why would there be intent?

"We don't want the lad to be injured. We wish him well and hope he is back on the pitch soon. It was a mistiming, he was sent off, he is disappointed and will hope Mateta is fine, which we all do.

"You are playing Premier League opposition on their own ground so it is a difficult task with 11 men. The nature of the goals probably disappoint me the most."

Parish's comments at half-time made headlines, as he firstly offered an update on Mateta, who needed oxygen while he was receiving treatment on the pitch. "So far what we know, he has a bad gash behind his ear and a head injury. He's at the hospital, we hope for the best," the Palace chief said.

"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 was, he's 30 years old.

"That is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I've ever seen, and I think he needs to have a long, hard look at himself, that lad, because he's maybe endangering a fellow professional's life with a challenge like that.

"It's very difficult for me to talk about the rest of the game because we're worried about JP [Mateta]. And it's just a terrible, terrible challenge."