‘I wanted to jump over him. Simple as that,’ says defenderSkrtel will miss three matches including FA Cup quarter-final

The Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel insists he does not feel guilty about the challenge on the Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea which resulted in a three-match ban.

The Slovakia international, currently preparing for a Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Luxembourg on Friday, failed in his appeal against a violent conduct charge. Skrtel had argued the action of standing on De Gea’s right shin as he chased a through-ball in the final seconds of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield was unintentional but an independent panel disagreed with him.

The 30-year-old has continued to profess his innocence even after his ban was confirmed, meaning he misses Premier League matches against Arsenal and Newcastle, as well as an FA Cup quarter-final replay at Blackburn.

“It feels strange because we appealed against those charges and still I was hit by a three-match ban,” he said. “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.”

The defender is unlikely to punished after he posted a picture of clowns on his Instagram account on Wednesday, which has been widely viewed as his comment on those who sat on the panel and decided the outcome of the hearing.

Skrtel will be joined on the sidelines by the Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, who will also serve a three-match ban after he was sent off 38 seconds after coming on as a substitute for stamping on the United midfielder Ander Herrera.

With Skrtel and several of his team-mates away on international duty the club’s Under-21s have been invited to train at the first-team’s Melwood base. However, Jordan Lussey will be getting competitive action elsewhere after completed a loan move to Bolton, currently 17th in the Championship.

The 20-year-old follows Sheyi Ojo and Jerome Sinclair, who have both joined the relegation-threatened Championship side Wigan on loan in the past six weeks to gain first-team experience.