Former Oxford United manager Mark Wright has vigorously denied being involved in a scuffle at Chester's Nationwide Conference derby against Southport last Saturday, writes JON MURRAY.

Mark WrightChester striker Daryl Clare was sent off at Haig Avenue just before half-time by referee Robert Desmond following an incident with Southport central defender Barry Jones.

The former Boston striker reacted after being unceremoniously hauled to the ground by Jones, who was in turn yellow-carded for his part in the incident.

The Chester manager and the visiting bench were incensed by the decision and Jones's subsequent reaction to the situation.

Wright said: "Referees can be wrong, but we can all be wrong. All I ask is that the referee has a look at the video of the incident.

"Their player, Barry Jones, conned the referee and stayed down and that's why everything kicked off at half-time."

But Wright last night insisted: "There was no scuffle, no punch, nothing went on."

And he had the backing of his chairman, Stephen Vaughan, who claimed: "Some of the reporting has been inaccurate and, quite frankly, disgraceful."