Latest news with #LiamRoberts
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Roberts to leave Lions after contract talks fail
Goalkeeper Liam Roberts is to leave Millwall at the end of the month after failing to agree a new contract with the 30-year-old, who arrived at The Den on a free transfer from Middlesbrough a year ago, made six appearances for the club in all competitions, two of them in the last of those six games was Millwall's FA Cup fifth round defeat to Crystal Palace in March – during which the goalkeeper was red-carded for his infamous head-high challenge on Eagles forward Jean-Philippe who apologised to Mateta after the Frenchman was hospitalised and received several stitches to his ear, became the target of what Millwall described as "abhorrent" online abuse in the wake of the automatic three-match ban for the sending-off at Selhurst Park was also who spent four years as Walsall's first-choice keeper before moving on to Northampton, Barnsley and Boro, said: "I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the fans, my team-mates and all the staff."My family and I were shown incredible support during one of the most difficult times in our lives, and we'll never forget the kindness and care we received from everyone connected to the club. That will stay with us forever."
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Why is Jean-Philippe Mateta wearing a protective helmet in the FA Cup final?
While Crystal Palace have taken a dramatic route to the FA Cup final against Manchester City, striker Jean-Philippe's journey to Wembley went via the hospital after suffering a horror injury earlier in in the competition. In March, the Frenchman required 25 stitches after a high challenge from Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts caught Mateta in the head and left his ear 'destroyed'. Mateta was taken to hospital and Roberts was sent off - and subsequently banned for six games - as Crystal Palace progressed with a 3-1 win at Selhurst Park. Remarkably, the 27-year-old was back in action a month later to help Crystal Palace to a victory over Fulham in the quarter-finals, sporting a new headguard that covers up his injured ear. Mateta, a key player for Oliver Glasner's Eagles, has worn the helmet ever since and played in the semi-final win at Wembley as Palace reached their third FA Cup final and set up the chance to win the club's first major honour against City. In an interview with L'Équipe, Mateta explained that he had accepted an apology from the goalkeeper Roberts but admitted he could have suffered an even more serious injury had he not turned his head at the last moment. 'I was afraid I'd have broken bones or blood in my brain but in fact, my ear was just destroyed,' he said. 'At the last moment, I had the reflex to turn my face. I was lucky because if I hadn't, I would have taken his foot right in the head, and it would have been much worse. 'A plastic surgery specialist came and took pictures of my ear, which he refused to show me, so as not to let them stay in my head,' he added. 'Obviously, it didn't look like an ear any more. 'At the beginning of the operation, the surgeon had a lot of trouble, but afterwards, as he explained to me, he found a way to save my ear. He did a hell of a job. 'I have to be careful to prevent it from getting infected, I have to wash it every time I sweat.'
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
FA Cup takes centre stage again as Palace and Villa enjoy old-school Wembley day
Which is the competition that exists in a state of permanent crisis again? As the Premier League drifts to a conclusion that has felt inevitable for several months, the FA Cup has started spewing out classic after classic, storyline after storyline, games in which the emotions are raw and the jeopardy real. Maybe the polarities have flipped once in the new economic environment and this has become the main event once again. You'd probably need a few more aspirational Championship sides to start taking the FA Cup more seriously before you made that argument too seriously but, equally, the Premier League's middle-class is burgeoning. With the gulf to the second flight growing, they can afford to be a little less troubled by the prospect of relegation, while qualification for the Champions League remains a distant prospect. In the circumstances, the only viable goal for that tier of sides is to take the FA Cup seriously. Advertisement It may also be, alarming as the prospect is, that as overseas owners – seeking the revenue brought by once-a season fans and their insatiable desire for branded tat – begin to diminish the significance of season-ticket holders, that the FA Cup becomes the competition for the traditional fans. Let the tourists have the manicured glitz of the Premier League, and retain the grand old Cup, in all its rickety and random glory, for the nostalgists. Other than the hot-dog fug that engulfed Wembley for much of the first half, this was a resolutely old-fashioned occasion. The only tradition that was missing was a relatively modern one: the preacher who stands on the concrete rampart to the left of Wembley Way spouting apocalypse and redemptive love. At the League Cup final he, for the first time, had a partner. Have they ridden off together into a golden evangelical sunset? Was he watching the pope's funeral on TV? The possibility that he's lost faith in the FA Cup is too awful to contemplate; if the FA Cup has lost the Wembley preacher, it really is doomed. What was obvious was how much it mattered. Nobody saw the trudge up Wembley Way as a routine. The chatter was excited, the selfies gleeful. People bumped into acquaintances with warmth and expectation and a sense of bemused disbelief. In the ground it was extremely loud. The nature of the FA Cup, with its six possible rounds for clubs in the top two divisions, is to offer simple narratives: heroes, villains, redemption, despair. The strongest of those storylines, perhaps, surrounded Jean-Philippe Mateta, who required 25 stitches in his ear after being the victim of a reckless foul by the Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the fifth round. He made his return in the win over Fulham in the quarter-final and played a key role at Wembley, despite missing a second-half penalty. Advertisement With the leather contraption protecting his ear allied to his moustache giving him the air of a raffish first world war flying ace, Mateta was a little unfortunate to have been judged to have fouled Ezri Konsa as he bundled him off the ball before beating Emi Martínez after 29 minutes. It was then his pass that teed up Ismaïla Sarr for the second goal, but more generally he led the press superbly. The penalty aberration meant this was not the perfect day for him; that, perhaps, is to come in the final. There's an unavoidable tendency at this stage of the season to blame any flaw on tiredness; what would in October just have been a mistake or a poor performance becomes instead an inevitable consequence of fatigue. But whether it was a result of weariness or not, there was a clear sense of Villa struggling to deal with the intensity of Palace. Related: Sarr's sizzlers send Crystal Palace soaring into FA Cup final dreamland The whipped finish from Eberechi Eze for the opening goal was superb, but it was created by Sarr closing down Pau Torres as he was placed under pressure by Lucas Digne's pass. For the second, similarly, a brilliant finish followed Villa being caught in possession, Youri Tielemans losing out to Adam Wharton. Advertisement At half-time, with Palace one-up, it felt as though it could be one of the great semi-finals. As it turned out, Villa didn't have the energy to make it close, and the overriding feature of the second half was Palace's ruthlessness in finishing the tie off. It will be their third FA Cup final and their second since their return to the Premier League in 2013. If they can produce a performance of similar organisation and aggression, there's no reason why, in a season that brought Newcastle's first domestic trophy for 70 years, will almost certainly bring Liverpool's second league title in 35 years and could bring Paris Saint-Germain's first Champions League, they couldn't win their first ever major trophy. If they do, they would be the second first-time FA Cup winners in five years. The magic, perhaps, is returning.
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
FA Cup takes centre stage again as Palace and Villa enjoy old-school Wembley day
Which is the competition that exists in a state of permanent crisis again? As the Premier League drifts to a conclusion that has felt inevitable for several months, the FA Cup has started spewing out classic after classic, storyline after storyline, games in which the emotions are raw and the jeopardy real. Maybe the polarities have flipped once in the new economic environment and this has become the main event once again. You'd probably need a few more aspirational Championship sides to start taking the FA Cup more seriously before you made that argument too seriously but, equally, the Premier League's middle-class is burgeoning. With the gulf to the second flight growing, they can afford to be a little less troubled by the prospect of relegation, while qualification for the Champions League remains a distant prospect. In the circumstances, the only viable goal for that tier of sides is to take the FA Cup seriously. It may also be, alarming as the prospect is, that as overseas owners – seeking the revenue brought by once-a season fans and their insatiable desire for branded tat – begin to diminish the significance of season-ticket holders, that the FA Cup becomes the competition for the traditional fans. Let the tourists have the manicured glitz of the Premier League, and retain the grand old Cup, in all its rickety and random glory, for the nostalgists. Other than the hot-dog fug that engulfed Wembley for much of the first half, this was a resolutely old-fashioned occasion. The only tradition that was missing was a relatively modern one: the preacher who stands on the concrete rampart to the left of Wembley Way spouting apocalypse and redemptive love. At the League Cup final he, for the first time, had a partner. Have they ridden off together into a golden evangelical sunset? Was he watching the pope's funeral on TV? The possibility that he's lost faith in the FA Cup is too awful to contemplate; if the FA Cup has lost the Wembley preacher, it really is doomed. What was obvious was how much it mattered. Nobody saw the trudge up Wembley Way as a routine. The chatter was excited, the selfies gleeful. People bumped into acquaintances with warmth and expectation and a sense of bemused disbelief. In the ground it was extremely loud. The nature of the FA Cup, with its six possible rounds for clubs in the top two divisions, is to offer simple narratives: heroes, villains, redemption, despair. The strongest of those storylines, perhaps, surrounded Jean-Philippe Mateta, who required 25 stitches in his ear after being the victim of a reckless foul by the Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts in the fifth round. He made his return in the win over Fulham in the quarter-final and played a key role at Wembley, despite missing a second-half penalty. With the leather contraption protecting his ear allied to his moustache giving him the air of a raffish first world war flying ace, Mateta was a little unfortunate to have been judged to have fouled Ezri Konsa as he bundled him off the ball before beating Emi Martínez after 29 minutes. It was then his pass that teed up Ismaïla Sarr for the second goal, but more generally he led the press superbly. The penalty aberration meant this was not the perfect day for him; that, perhaps, is to come in the final. There's an unavoidable tendency at this stage of the season to blame any flaw on tiredness; what would in October just have been a mistake or a poor performance becomes instead an inevitable consequence of fatigue. But whether it was a result of weariness or not, there was a clear sense of Villa struggling to deal with the intensity of Palace. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The whipped finish from Eberechi Eze for the opening goal was superb, but it was created by Sarr closing down Pau Torres as he was placed under pressure by Lucas Digne's pass. For the second, similarly, a brilliant finish followed Villa being caught in possession, Youri Tielemans losing out to Adam Wharton. At half-time, with Palace one-up, it felt as though it could be one of the great semi-finals. As it turned out, Villa didn't have the energy to make it close, and the overriding feature of the second half was Palace's ruthlessness in finishing the tie off. It will be their third FA Cup final and their second since their return to the Premier League in 2013. If they can produce a performance of similar organisation and aggression, there's no reason why, in a season that brought Newcastle's first domestic trophy for 70 years, will almost certainly bring Liverpool's second league title in 35 years and could bring Paris Saint-Germain's first Champions League, they couldn't win their first ever major trophy. If they do, they would be the second first-time FA Cup winners in five years. The magic, perhaps, is returning.
BBC News
18-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Roberts withdrawn from Millwall's player award
Millwall have withdrawn Liam Roberts from the club's player of the season award to prevent further abuse of the goalkeeper, captain Shaun Hutchinson 30, was sent off in the Lions' FA Cup defeat against Crystal Palace in March after kicking Eagles striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the required 25 stitches for a severe laceration to his ear and Roberts was handed a six-game ban by the Football Association and has not played club said Roberts, who has made six appearances since moving to The Den from Middlesbrough last summer, received online abuse and death threats after the 34, said the players had taken the decision to withdraw Roberts from the award, which is voted for by supporters, in order to prevent renewed attention on the events at Selhurst Park. "As we approach the end-of-season awards ceremony and celebrate some of the outstanding performances across the campaign, we want to be open and transparent with you about a subject we've discussed as a squad," he said in a statement sent to BBC Radio 5 Live."Your incredible support for Liam Roberts since the Crystal Palace match has meant the world to him and his family during an incredibly difficult time. "We also understand that many of you have continued to show that support by voting for him as player of the season."With that in mind, there's concern within the squad that a placed finish for Robbo could unintentionally resurface a lot of the external abuse and negative stories directed at him — issues we as a club have been steadily moving forward from."Robbo and his family endured endless, horrific online abuse following the FA Cup tie. He and his wife received death threats, his name was dragged through the headlines, and we witnessed a teammate go through a nightmare. "We can't allow that to happen again and have shared this view with the Millwall Supporters' Club."Millwall were ninth in the Championship ahead of Good Friday's visit to Blackburn Rovers, three points below sixth-placed Coventry City in the final play-off place.
