Millwall goalkeeper could face further punishment for his horror challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta. Crystal Palace striker Mateta was taken to hospital after being kicked in the head by Roberts in the eighth minute of Palace's 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round win on Saturday.

There is no doubt Liam Roberts’s flying kick on Jean-Philippe Mateta in the FA Cup fifth round merited the red card it eventually earned. Mateta spent eight minutes being treated on the pitch before being transported to St George’s Hospital in south London, where he received 25 stitches in his left ear.

Millwall have condemned the ‘character assassination’ of goalkeeper Liam Roberts by ‘high-profile figures’ in football following his sending-off for his challenge on Jean-Phillipe Mateta during Saturday’s FA Cup defeat by Crystal Palace.