Craig Nelthorpe said he thought his red card last Saturday was "harsh".

The former Doncaster winger cut a rather forlorn figure in the tunnel after the game as he kept trying to catch a view of the TV replays of his 34th-minute challenge on Mustapha Carayol, and to hear what the pundits were saying about it.

He said: "I thought it was harsh. Their player didn't get upset and I won the ball.

"You only have to look at the reaction of their players. No-one was getting upset about it then the ref gave the red card."

However, replays indicated that one foot was high in his challenge.

"You see it on TV and it's a clear red card," said former Manchester United star Paul Parker, working for Setanta.

In many games, however, the challenge would have merited only a yellow, and Nelthorpe got some sympathy from Chris Wilder, who was unhappy with Simon Beck's general handling of the match.

"I've got to be careful I don't get too wound up about the referee, but some of his decisions . . . one time a Torquay player ducked his head and he gave a free-kick against him for ducking!

"Nelthorpe went for the ball. There was not a murmur from the opposition bench. That's a good indication.

"I thought he went for the ball. He lifted his foot slightly, yes, but if we're talking about that as a sending-off then up and down the country today there's going to be loads of them flying about.”