Thomas Frank accuses Nottingham Forest groundsman of INJURING his goalkeeping coach in pre-match row
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‘There must be something that really terrified him’: Thomas Frank accuses Nottingham Forest groundsman of Brentford goalkeeper coach in furious brawl ahead of game at City Ground
- Thomas Frank has revealed that a Brentford coach has been injured in an incident
- The dispute was between the goalkeeper coach of the Bees and a forester
- Brentford boss says his coach suffered a visible injury from the altercation
- Incident allegedly originated due to a disagreement during the visitors’ warm-up
Thomas Frank has accused a member of the Nottingham Forest grounds management team of injuring one of his coaches before Brentford’s game at the City Ground on Saturday.
The incident occurred as Frank’s team were warming up ahead of the game which ended 2-2 after a late own goal by Mathias Jorgensen of Brentford.
As goalkeeper coach Manuel ‘Manu’ Sotelo went through some pre-match exercises, a dispute arose between Sotelo and one of Forest’s ground staff who had invaded the penalty area.
Thomas Frank says Brentford goalkeeper coach Manuel Sotelo was injured in a pre-match incident with a Nottingham Forest constable
The groundsman allegedly disrupted Brentford’s warm-up ahead of Saturday’s 2-2 draw at the City Ground
The two were the pictured exchanging words, with Sotelo appearing to try to push the unnamed staff member, who was carrying a long digging fork, away from the Brentford players.
Forest concluded in an investigation that the constable had entered the area of the pitch where the visitors were warming up to tell them to move on, alleging that Brentford had broken Premier League rules about how long teams are allowed in the penalty area. remain during the warm-up.
Frank later explained that Sotelo, who previously worked at Forest as a goalkeeping coach under Aitor Karanka, suffered an injury during the incident.
“Yes, he has a point. Something signaled him and I even have a picture.”
The altercation between the pair had to be broken up by nearby Brentford players
Frank later said he had ‘never seen a gardener walking around during our warm-up’
“I’ve got a bit of a temper so I’m not always an angel and I try to be the best version, but my goalkeeper coach is the most down to earth guy, there must be something really p***** off him.
“I just hope everyone watches it. There must be cameras.’
The 49-year-old went on to explain that he had never seen anything like it during his time in the game.
“But in all my time in football and especially all my time in the Premier League, I’ve never seen a groundskeeper walking around during our warm-up doing things.
“I don’t know if that’s a coincidence, but it just really surprised me.”
Boss boss Steve Cooper has chosen not to comment on the incident in its immediate aftermath.