Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has admitted that he is baffled with the FA overruling his innocence plee after he was charged with a three match ban for a stamp on Manchester United’s David de Gea.
The Slovakia international is currently preparing for a Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Luxembourg on Friday.
Skrtel’s argument is that his action of standing on De Geaa s right shin was due to chasing a through-ball in the final seconds of Sundaya s 2-1 defeat at Anfield and was unintentional as he wanted to jump over the Manchester United goalkeeper but couldn’t do it correctly in the momentum. However, an independent panel disagreed with him.
a It feels strange because we appealed against those charges and still I was hit by a three-match ban,a he said. a I didna t want to stamp on him. It was an accident and I didna t do it on purpose. I dona t feel guilty. It was a long ball and he went towards me and I wanted to jump over him. Simple as that.a
Brendan Rodgers defended his centre-back by making the same argument immediately after the match.
Rodgers said, “I have seen the Martin Skrtel incident. The ball was played through but it probably looks worse in slow motion.
“It looks like he is trying to get a nick on the ball, to get a toe on the ball but the ball went into the goalkeepers hand.
“Martin is not that type of player, he was just a fraction out.
The defender has posted a picture of clowns on his Instagram account on Wednesday, which has been viewed as his take on those who sat on the panel and decided the outcome of the hearing. However, he is unlikely to be punished for this social media outburst.
Skrtel will miss Liverpool’s crucial tie against Arsenal next week and will also not participate in the quarter-final replay against Blackburn Rovers. He will also miss the tie at home against Newcastle. Steven Gerrard will also miss the same matches after he was shown a straight red card for a stamp on United midfielder Ander Herrera, just thirty seconds after coming on as a second half substitute.