LUCKLESS York City skipper Peter Swan will receive an automatic three-match ban after being dismissed for alleged violent conduct against Chesterfield.

Debutant referee Mark Clattenburg refused to discuss his controversial decision after the 4-1 defeat for York, despite Swan insisting his innocence.

With City trailing 3-1 at the time, the York captain was alleged to have head-butted Chesterfield defender Steve Blatherwick in an off-the-ball incident in the Spireites' penalty area.

There was the usual jostling that is expected at set-pieces - City had been awarded a free-kick just inside the Chesterfield half - but no one seemed to have witnessed Swan head-butt, or even attempt to touch his opposite number.

If, as expected, Swan's ban come into effect two weeks on Saturday meaning he should eligible to play the Friday night match at Carlisle but miss matches at home to Barnet and Scunthorpe, and the away trip to Darlington.

He will not be able to appeal against the red card, even if video evidence was able to prove his innocence.

Players can only now appeal against a sending-off if their is a case of mistaken identity.

Fellow City defender Mark Sertori admitted he was clueless as to why Swan had been dismissed.

"The lad he was supposed to have head-butted was laughing and there was no marks or nothing," he said.

" I think Swanny made a run to go in, checked and he has come back out and so the referee may have thought he had had a go at someone.

"Swanny is an honest bloke, he would admit it if he had done it, but he can't believe it. He is absolutely distraught.

"I think even one of their players, Ryan Williams, asked the ref what he was sending him off for."

York manager Terry Dolan was equally bemused by the decision of Clattenburg - at 25 one of the youngest ever Football League referees.

"The referee said he head-butted him (Baltherwick) but Peter is adamant that he didn't.

"It's a little bit difficult to except when David Reeves has virtually crippled Alan Fettis and remained on the field.

"But referee's make those decisions."

Chesterfield manager Nicky Law declined to comment on the referee's performance but believed the sending-off, coming when the Spireites were 3-1 up, did little to aid their cause.

"I thought it would make it harder for us," he said. "We were well in control but I thought it might have given them a boost and they would have reacted by making it more difficult for us.

"It is also in a team's nature when they are playing against ten men to get sloppy and start running with the ball, but we didn't and I thought it was a very good performance at the end of the day."