THOMAS FRANK accused a Nottingham Forest groundsman of disrupting Brentford’s warm-up and injuring his goalkeeping coach during a pre-match bust-up.
The Brentford boss claimed he had evidence of coach Manu Soleto having been left with a mark on his torso following the clash.
Brentford goalkeeper coach Manu Soleto had an altercation with a Nottingham Forest groundsmanSoleto appeared to usher the groundsman away after he asked the Bees coach to leave the penalty areaThe coach was left with a mark on his torso according to Thomas FrankBrentford boss Frank was shocked by the incidentAn initial investigation by Forest found that Brentford were at fault for breaching a Premier League rule on how long they can spend in the penalty box during the warm-up.The groundsman, carrying a long fork, moved into the box during a drill to tell the visitors to move on and felt threatened by their response.
Asked if the coach was injured, Frank said: “Yes he got a mark.
“Something gave him a mark and I have even got a picture.
“I have a bit of a temper so I am not an angel all of the time and I try to be the best version but my goalkeeping coach is the most down to earth guy, there must be something really p****** him off.
“I just hope like everyone is looking into it.
“There must be cameras.”;
Referee Andre Marriner had to be brought in to settle the dispute and The FA are awaiting his report before investigating the issue.
The Bees boss added: “It surprised me a little bit, not that I am an experienced Premier League manager.
“But in all my time in football and, especially all my time in the Premer League, I have never seen a groundsman walking around in the middle of our warm-up doing things.
“I don’t know if that is a coincidence, but it just surprised me very much.
“I have never seen that.
“I hope they do that every time, against Liverpool and West Ham.”;
Forest boss Steve Cooper said he was aware of the incident but did not want to comment before knowing all the facts.
