IF LOSING AT home to their bitter rivals, having their captain sent-off and falling behind in the race for the coveted Champions League berths wasn’t enough punishment for one afternoon, Liverpool now face having to do without Martin Skrtel for three games.
As expected, the defender has been charged by the Football Association after he appeared to stamp on Man United goalkeeper David de Gea in the final seconds of yesterday’s game at Anfield.
The Slovakian international escaped initial punishment because referee Martin Atkinson, who had earlier dismissed Steven Gerrard, didn’t see the incident but the FA have reviewed the footage and have retrospectively charged the 30-year-old.
“Martin Skrtel has been charged by The FA for violent conduct following an on-field incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video,” a statement from England’s governing body read.
“In Premier League matches, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite officials will be asked by The FA to review the footage independently of each other.
“They will then advise what, if any action, they believe the match referee should have taken had it been witnessed at the time. For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree it is a sending-off offence.
“In this instance, the decision by the panel was unanimous.”
Skrtel has until 6pm tomorrow to respond to the charge.
If he accepts the charge or fails to get it successfully overturned, he will miss the trip to Arsenal on 4 April as well as the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Blackburn and the visit of Newcastle United to Anfield on 13 April.
Speaking directly after Sunday’s game, Brendan Rodgers insisted his player had tried to play the ball and it wasn’t intentional.
