Crystal Palace's FA Cup clash with Millwall was delayed for seven minutes after star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta suffered a kung-fu kick to his head and was rushed to hospital.
Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts was sent off just eight minutes into Saturday's fifth-round tie after charging off his line and clattering into Mateta, Palace's top scorer this season. VAR had a look at the nasty incident and after a review, referee Michael Oliver had no choice but to show Roberts, who initially won the ball but followed through with his left foot, a red card.
Mateta, 27, needed oxygen while receiving treatment on the pitch at Selhurst Park. The Frenchman was later stretchered off to a standing ovation from the home fans and replaced by Eddie Nketiah. A section of Millwall supporters, meanwhile, chanted 'let him die'.
Palace chairman Steve Parish was shown on the screens animatedly re-enacting Roberts' tackle to members of staff. Former England defender Matt Upson said on BBC One: "Wow. That was a big decision from Liam Roberts. Jean-Philippe Mateta gets clattered.
"He doesn't anticipate the keeper coming to win this ball. I think Roberts does win it, but that was a high left foot. He wins the ball first, but the follow-through catches Mateta on the head."
Lukas Jensen came on in goal for Millwall, as midfielder Luke Cundle was sacrificed. One of substitute Nketiah's first touches was to put the ball in the back of the Millwall net but his goal was quickly ruled out for handball. The two south London clubs were meeting for the first time since an FA Cup third-round meeting in 2022.
In this tie, Palace took the lead in the 33rd minute through a Japhet Tanganga own goal. Eberechi Eze found Will Hughes on the left-hand side of the Millwall penalty area, as his cross was headed by Tanganga and inadvertently past Jensen.
Palace defender Daniel Munoz soon made it 2-0 after finishing off a goalmouth scramble. 10-man Millwall pulled a goal back before half-time, though, as Wes Harding struck.
Mateta's absence would be a huge blow for Palace, with the former Mainz striker scoring four goals in his last four Premier League games to take him onto 12 for the season. The 27-year-old had his best ever season in a Palace shirt last term, scoring 16 top-flight goals for the Eagles.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner hailed Mateta's goalscoring feats and work rate last month, saying: "He is doing really well and performing well, but like every single player, and like me as a manager, we all have situations where we can improve and this is the same with him.
"Yes, he scores great goals, he's very important for us, he's hard-working, he's always available, and always in a good mood, but we always try to support the players and the same with him, to help him to increase his performances, and of course then to score more goals.
"I don't really look at just the goals he's scoring, he's also working really hard in defending, and now, when we talk about the last weeks and especially the away games, I think we had four clean sheets in the last five games. Everything starts with the front man, and he's the front man in defending."
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