The Football Association have announced that Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been officially charged with violent conduct after the Slovakian appeared to intentionally stamp on Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea during his side's clash against the Red Devils on Sunday.
The alleged offence went unpunished as it was not seen by referee Martin Atkinson or his assistants as it was committed just before the final whistle.
However, the FA decided to take action again Skrtel after reviewing the television footage of the incident.
"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," read a statement on FA's official website.
"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 FA generally steps in when an incident is missed by the referee and his assistants during a Premier League game. A three-man panel consisting of former officials is asked to review the incident and whether the offence was worthy of a sending off.
Finally the particular player is only charged if all three members of the panel agree that the offence in question deserved a straight red card.
And the FA have confirmed that "In this instance, the decision by the panel was unanimous."
Skrtel, who has until 6 pm on 24 March 2015 to respond to the charge, will be handed a three match ban if he is found guilty of the alleged stamp. This means that the defender will be missing Liverpool's two important Premier League clash against Arsenal and Newcastle and the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Blackburn Rovers.
This will certainly prove to be a big blow for Liverpool, who are already without their captain Steven Gerrard, who received a straight red card for stamping on Ander Herrera during the Reds Premier League clash against Manchester United on Sunday.
Earlier Chelsea's Diego Costa was banned for three games after he was found guilty of stamping on Emre Can during the Blues' victory over Liverpool in the second leg semi-final of Capital One Cup at Stamford Bridge on 27 January.
