Crystal Palace is a soccer team in England’s top league, the Premier League. One of their best players, Jean-Philippe Mateta, got hurt during a game against Millwall on Saturday. This game was part of a big tournament called the FA Cup, and it happened at Crystal Palace’s home stadium, Selhurst Park.
Here’s what happened: Early in the game, Mateta ran toward the ball at the same time as Millwall’s goalkeeper, Liam Roberts. The goalkeeper jumped out to kick the ball away but ended up hitting Mateta in the head with his shoe. This caused a serious head injury. The referee, who is like the judge of the game, didn’t stop play right away. But after checking a video replay system called VAR (short for Video Assistant Referee), the referee decided the goalkeeper’s actions were dangerous. Roberts was given a red card, which means he had to leave the game, and his team had to play with one less player.
Mateta, who is from France and has scored 15 goals in 33 games for Crystal Palace this season, was in pain on the field. The medical team gave him oxygen to help him breathe and spent a long time making sure he was stable. Then, they put him on a stretcher and took him to an ambulance to go to the hospital. Another player, Eddie Nketiah, came in to replace him.
At halftime, when the score was 2-1 with Crystal Palace winning, the team’s chairman, Steve Parish, talked to the BBC. He said, “Obviously, he’s at the hospital, so we hope for the best. I mean there’s a lot of emotion in football, but we need to talk about that challenge. In all the time I’ve watched football, I’ve never seen a challenge like it.” He explained that Mateta had a deep cut behind his ear and a head injury. Doctors were checking him at the hospital to see how serious it was. Parish also said the goalkeeper’s move was one of the most dangerous things he’d ever seen in soccer.
The game was only halfway done, with Crystal Palace ahead against Millwall, a team from a lower league. Fans and the team were worried about Mateta and waiting for updates on how he was doing.
