Kamara: Why Skrtel had to be banned and Liverpool are not out of it
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Martin Skrtel may have responded to the news of his three-match stamping ban by posting a picture of some clowns on Instagram, but frankly, the FA had no other option, according to Ladbrokes ambassador Chris Kamara.
The Liverpool defender was charged with catching Manchester United ‘keeper David De Gea with his studs in their 2-1 defeat to Louis van Gaal’s men last week, and Kammy only saw one possible outcome.
“The problem they [the FA] have got is they have set a precedent,” he told Ladbrokes News.
“When they banned Diego Costa for stamping on Emre Can, they couldn’t be 100 per cent whether it was deliberate. Nobody can prove whether Costa’s was deliberate and they found him guilty.
“Even though Skrtel is saying sorry and it wasn’t deliberate, only he knows whether it was or it wasn’t, and nobody else can prove it.
“So once they found Costa guilty, they were going to find Skrtel guilty”.
The Slovakian’s suspension means he will miss Premier League fixtures against Arsenal and Newcastle, as well as the FA Cup quarter final replay against Blackburn.
He joins Steven Gerrard on the absentee list for those games, but Kammy sees no reason why it means the Reds’ top four aspirations are dead and buried.
“Who knows how it will affect them? Whoever comes in and takes Skrtel’s place might play really well and Gerrard’s not been a regular of late, so it might not have an effect at all. We will just have to wait and see.”
Brendan Rodgers’ men are now five points behind Manchester United and are ranked as a 7/2 shot to snatch a Champions League place.
But with the Anfield outfit winning 77 per cent of Premier League matches when they have been without either Skrtel or Gerrard this season, as opposed to the 42 per cent return when both have featured, the future could yet look bright on Merseyside.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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