James Tarkowski issues apology

Brentford defender James Tarkowski has issued a personal statement to assure he meant no “offence or insult” to the club by refusing to play against Burnley on 15 January.

Tarkowski revealed he wishes to leave Griffin Park due to personal reasons as his mother is suffering from a “serious, incurable illness”.

The Manchester-born defender had felt the wrath of Brentford fans and was pending disciplinary action by the club following his absence without reason, but in a detailed statement Tarkowski explained his actions.

“I wanted to share a message with the fans following last week’s events. My plans were to do this sooner but I agreed with the club that it was better to do so once I’d returned to training.

“I have always had a strong bond with my team mates and the fans. I also have a very close relationship with my family who, like you and my team mates, have been there and supported me throughout my career. Unfortunately my mum has a serious, incurable illness and her condition has been getting steadily worse.

“I live a good four hours away from her and during the autumn, it became clear to me that I needed to get closer to home to support both her and my dad.

“I was open and up front about this with the club, who were sympathetic and said they’d work with me and my agent to try to reach a solution which worked well for the club whilst giving me the possibility to move to closer to my mum. We decided to keep this matter confidential in the best interests of everyone. I decided not to put in a transfer request as we agreed it would be better to work together on this.

“In the run up to the match against Burnley, I felt completely frazzled and unable to concentrate properly. I thought that my distraction may result in an error that would let my team mates and the fans down. After much thought and consultation with the gaffer, my family and my team mates, I felt unable to guarantee my usual standard of performance and said as much to the gaffer.

“I would like to thank everyone who has offered me support over the last ten days, and thank the club for continuing to understand my situation at home.”

“I am still under contract at Brentford and am committed to giving my best for the club, the team and the fans, as I always do when wearing the shirt,” the statement by Tarkowski concluded.

---

Read: Full statement by James Tarkowski