The Crystal Palace and Millwall match quickly took a disastrous turn on Saturday.
Within just six minutes of the two teams taking over each other in the FA Cup fifth tie, Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts tried to clear the dangerous ball, simultaneously nailing Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to the side of his head.
Mateta was flat on the pitch after the incident and was given oxygen for nine minutes before taking off on a stretcher towards the ambulance before being taken to the hospital.
But the kick isn't even the most shocking part of the story.
Multiple reports say that as the striker was undergoing treatment, Millwall fans can hear him chanting “Die him” around Selhurst Park.
Palace fans were rebutting in a song with the name of the French striker.
Since then, the Football Association has denounced some of the “death him” chants from visiting fans, but they have determined that the cry does not violate that regulations.
However, the FA investigates homophobic chants from Millwall supporters, created for Ben Chilwell, which is on loan at Chelsea's Crystal Palace.
Following reviews of Mateta's exit and Virtual Assistant Judge (VAR), Roberts was given a red card for the incident to leave his line to clear the ball.
Eddie Nketia took part in the match at Mateta's location and scored the goal in Crystal Palace's final 3-1 victory.
Oliver Glasner of the Palace confirmed that Mateta had suffered a serious injury to his ear.
“He's in the hospital and I heard he's conscious and he's got serious ear injuries,” Glasner said. “I didn't want to see it after the game because I didn't want to get hurt. But I was told you had to talk about it, so I saw it and it was a very serious foul play.
“Imagine if he had hit the face straight with all this power and studs, it might have been the end of JP's career. I'm sure he doesn't want to hurt JP in this situation, but when it comes to such an impact, I think we need to decide that we can't do this. The risk of very serious injuries is too high. I'm not happy today because of how serious JP's injuries are. My fingers are crossed and hopefully he can play in the quarterfinals. In four weeks, I hope it's not that serious.”
Mateta sent a message to his supporters.
“Thank you for all the kind message. I'm fine. I hope I'll come back soon. And stronger than ever. You did a great job today,” Mateta posted on Instagram after the game.
The palace chair reflected the owner's opinion and called it the “most reckless challenge” he had ever seen.
“I think he needs to work hard on himself, that young man for a long time, because he is putting his fellow experts, perhaps his life at risk with such a challenge,” he added.
Mateta scored eight goals in the previous nine games on Saturday, earning a total of 15 seasons at the Palace.
The 27-year-old Frenchman scored five goals for France in the quest to win silver at the Parisiolmín Games last summer.
Crystal Palace has made its way to the FA Cup quarterfinals
