Liverpool FC defender Martin Skrtel charged by FA over alleged stamp on Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea

Liverpool FC v Manchester United Premier League Match at Anfield Stadium Liverpool. Martin Skrtel challenges De Gea for the ball

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been charged by the FA over his alleged stamp on Manchester United keeper David de Gea.
The incident happened in the closing seconds at Anfield on Sunday as the Slovakian stretched for a ball inside the penalty box at the Kop end.
No action was taken by referee Martin Atkinson although TV replays suggested he could have been unsighted when Skrtel’s foot landed on de Gea’s arm.
Skrtel could face a retrospective ban if the FA decided his challenge warrants punishment.
A three-match ban would force Liverpool to change their settled back three with the most obvious choice for cover – fellow centre-back Dejan Lovren – already a doubt after being ruled out of Croatia’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Norway on Saturday.
The 25-year-old was not in the squad to face United and the Croatian Football Federation have announced he will miss this weekend’s match in Zagreb due to a recurrence of the “abdominal wall injury” that forced him out of last year’s game against Bulgaria.
Liverpool and Skrtel have the option of defending the charge or accepting it. The three games he could miss are Arsenal away, the Blackburn FA Cup replay and Newcastle at home.
Brendan Rodgers defended Skrtel in his post match press conference yesterday.
He said: “I think that it’s towards the end of the game, he’s been pushed upfield, but I don’t think he caught him with intent.
“I think he’s trying to nick the final contact on the ball, and if he does that then he probably gets a penalty, so he’s stretching.
“The ball goes into the ‘keeper’s arms, and obviously he’s caught him after that. But he’s just trying to get a toe on the ball, and if he does that and gets brought down then it’s probably a penalty.
“I didn’t think it was on purpose, at all, but obviously when the ‘keeper gets the studs like that then it can be a bit painful for him.”

The FA's statement

Martin Skrtel hops over David de Gea at Liverpool v Manchester United

The FA confirmed the charge on their website on Monday evening.
The governing body's statement read: "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.
"The charge is in relation to an incident involving the Liverpool defender and Manchester United's David de Gea which occurred in the 95th minute of Sunday's game.
"The player has until 6pm on 24 March 2015 to respond to the charge.
"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."