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.
An 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.
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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.
