Millwall fans sing vile new chant about Jean-Philippe Mateta

Millwall fans were heard singing vile new chants about Jean-Philippe Mateta during their Championship victory over Watford.

Crystal Palace striker Mateta suffered a serious head injury during the FA Cup clash against Millwall last weekend after being kicked in the head by goalkeeper Liam Roberts.

Mateta, 27, was given oxygen on the pitch before being taken to hospital to recover. He needed 25 stitches for a severe laceration to his left ear.

The foul initially went unpunished by referee Michael Olivier but Roberts was then shown a red card following a VAR check.

Later in the week, Roberts’ three-game ban was extended to six matches by the FA.

Millwall had been keen to move on from the incident, claiming there had been a ‘character assassination’ of Roberts in the media.

But the club’s fans repeatedly mentioned the incident during Saturday’s 2-1 win at Watford.

Chants of ‘let him die’ could be once again heard every time a home player went down injured, while others sand: ‘It isn’t enough, it isn’t enough – 25 stitches, it isn’t enough’.

The chants continued with: ‘Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, Mateta’s in A and E.’

There were also supportive chants towards Roberts, who issued a public apology to Mateta earlier in the week.

‘As soon as I could, I reached out to Jean-Philippe personally to apologise, and I was thankful to hear back from him that evening that he was OK and reassured me not to worry,’ he said.

‘I am devastated by what happened. I unequivocally accept the red card as awarded and accept my punishment.

‘Furthermore, it has been extremely unpleasant to observe suggestions that I intended to harm a fellow professional. I have categorically never stepped onto a football pitch with the intention of hurting anyone.

‘Misleading articles and comments have resulted in an unthinkable amount of abusive messages and threats towards my family and I.

‘To the footballing community who know me and reached out with support through this tough time, thank you, I appreciate every single message.’

After extending the ban by three games, the FA said in a statement: ‘The standard punishment for this offence was clearly insufficient, and Liam Roberts subsequently denied this.

‘Following a hearing, the Regulatory Commission upheld the FA’s claim, set aside the standard three-match punishment, and instead imposed a six-match ban.’

Mattie Pollock gave Watford a first-half lead against Millwall on Saturday but the visitors came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Casper De Norre and Josh Coburn.

The result sees Millwall climb to 12th in the Championship – the second division of English football – while Watford drop to 11th.

‘I think now we can draw a line under the Liam stuff,’ Millwall boss Alex Neil said after the game.

‘Liam’s made a bad decision. He’s mistimed the challenge. I think it’s then been trial by media at that point afterwards, which we are not in control of.

‘But internally, it’s not really been turbulent for us. Liam will serve a suspension. That’s the way it is, and we just move on to the next game.’

Mateta has scored 15 goals for Crystal Palace this season and 41 since joining from Mainz in 2022.

His impressive form at Selhurst Park has attracted interest from a number of clubs, with Premier League giants Manchester United said to be weighing up a summer move.

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