Nottingham Forest groundsman and Brentford coach handed FA charge over clash
Nottingham Forest's head groundsman Ewan Hunter and Brentford's goalkeeping coach Manu Sotelo have been charged by the FA following an alleged clash that took place before the Premier League fixture between the two sides.
The teams went head-to-head on November 5, after a disagreement between the aforementioned duo in an alleged row over how long clubs can use the penalty area during their warm-up.
Snaps showed the pair in an altercation which led to the involvement of referee Andre Marriner, with Brentford's Ben Mee also trying to calm matters down.
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An FA spokesperson said: “Nottingham Forest’s grounds manager and Brentford’s goalkeeping coach have been charged following an incident that occurred prior to their Premier League game on Saturday 5 November.
“It’s alleged that Ewan Hunter’s behaviour was improper and/or violent and Manu Sotelo’s behaviour was improper.
“Both of them have until Thursday 12 April to provide their respective responses."
Speaking of the incident at the time, Brentford boss Thomas Frank said: "In all my time in football and especially all my time in the Premier League I have never, ever, ever seen a groundsman walking around in the middle of our warm-up doing things."
The contest finished 2-2 with Morgan Gibbs-White, Bryan Mbeumo and Joanne Wissa on target as well as an own goal by Mathias Jorgensen.
The sides are due to meet again on April 29 in west London, with Brentford chasing European qualification and Forest aiming to avoid relegation.
Forest manager Steve Cooper retains the backing of owner Evangelos Marinakis, who moved to assure fans he is going nowhere, as the beleaguered boss prepares for a Midlands derby away at Aston Villa this weekend.
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