Ivan Toney forced to apologise after being filmed saying 'f--- Brentford' while on holiday in Dubai

Ivan Toney has apologised following the publication of a video of him appearing to say “f--- Brentford” while on holiday in Dubai.

The Brentford striker has described his language as “unacceptable” and explained that the video was “cut short and edited”.

Toney has been in contact with Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach, to explain the video and apologise for the incident.

Brentford had said on Friday that they would investigate the video although it remains to be seen whether Toney’s apology, and his conversation with Frank, has brought an end to the matter.

The 25 year-old’s goals were crucial to Brentford’s promotion from the Championship last season and he has so far scored six times in 21 Premier League appearances this campaign.

“I am aware of a video of me that was published on social media, taken in Dubai where I have been on holiday during the winter break,” said Toney.

“In it, I used language that was unacceptable. The video was cut short and edited, but I have to accept the impact this has had and I realise I should not have put myself in that position.

“I have explained to the gaffer what happened and apologised to him but I also want to apologise to all Brentford fans.

“I respect the way you all support the team and I have to say how much I love playing for the club and for you. I’ll be back at training next week, working hard to score more goals to win us more games for the rest of the season.”

Toney is perhaps Brentford’s most important player and his goals will be crucial in the second half of the season as they look to maintain their status as a Premier League team.

Frank’s side have lost six of their last seven matches in the league, although Toney has returned to goalscoring form in recent weeks and has scored twice in his last two matches.

Toney has attracted interest from other Premier League teams following his exploits in the second tier last season, when he broke the record for the most goals scored in a Championship campaign. He was signed from Peterborough in the summer of 2020 for an initial fee of just £5 million.

Brentford hope to strengthen their attack with the signing of Christian Eriksen and have agreed terms with the Denmark playmaker. The process of formally signing Eriksen is more complicated than usual due to the extensive medical tests required following his collapse last summer.

Meanwhile, Frank has accepted an £8,000 fine following the red card he received during Brentford’s defeat by Wolves last weekend. Frank was dismissed after the end of the match by referee Peter Bankes after he had confronted the official on the pitch.

Frank had said he was shown his second yellow card by Bankes for being “too aggressive” towards the referee.

“I was frustrated we didn’t get a point but I was relatively calm and there was a situation which triggered it,” he said.

“I got a yellow card after a confrontation with a Wolves player, then I turned round to Peter and said ‘you can give me a second one as well’. He said it was because I was turning around and too aggressive.”