Thursday 26 March 2015 16:46, UK
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel says he does not feel guilty about stamping on Manchester United keeper David de Gea.
Skrtel was handed a three-match ban for the incident towards the end of United's 2-1 victory at Anfield on Sunday, but the 30-year-old remains unrepentant and continues to protest his innocence.
The Slovak claimed the coming together was completely unintentional as he caught the Spainiard on the shin while chasing a through-ball in the final seconds of the match, but an independent panel disagreed.
"It feels strange because we appealed against those charges and still I was hit by a three-match ban," he told his personal website martin-skrtel.com.
"I didn't want to stamp on him. It was an accident and I didn't do it on purpose. I don't feel guilty. It was a long ball and he went towards me and I wanted to jump over him. Simple as that."
Skrtel's ban means he will miss the Premier League matches against Arsenal and Newcastle, plus the FA Cup quarter-final replay at Blackburn and he will be joined on the sidelines by club captain Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard will also serve a similar three-match ban for the red card he received less than a minute after coming on as a second-half substitute fo his stamp on United midfielder Ander Herrera.