Roberts withdrawn from Millwall’s player award

According to Millwall captain Shaun Hutchinson, the club has withdrawn Liam Roberts from the player of the year award vote to stop further abuse of the goalkeeper.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, 30, kicking the Eagles striker in the head in the Lions’ FA Cup defeat by Crystal Palace in March, sent Roberts off.

Roberts was given a six-game ban by the Football Association after suffering a severe laceration in Mateta’s ear, which required 25 stitches, and he hasn’t played since.

Roberts, who signed for The Den from Middlesbrough last summer and has made six appearances since, was accused of receiving death threats and abuse online following the challenge.

We want to be open and honest with you about a topic we’ve discussed as a squad in a statement sent to BBC Radio 5 Live as we approach the end-of-season awards ceremony and honor some of the campaign’s outstanding performances.

“You have been a huge help to Liam Roberts and his family during a very difficult time,” you have said.

We also understand that many of you have continued to support him by awarding him the season’s MVP.

With that in mind, the squad is concerned that a placed finish for Robbo could unintentionally bring up many of the negative stories and abuse from other clubs, which we have been working on for a while.

Following the FA Cup match, Robbo and his family endured unending, horrifying online abuse. We witnessed a teammate experience a nightmare, his name was dragged through the headlines, and he and his wife were threatened with death.

We have shared this opinion with the Millwall Supporters’ Club and can’t allow that to happen again.