Graham Salisbury controversially dished out three red cards in the 1-1 draw between Lincoln and Cheltenham.
Imps and Robins share spoils in hot-tempered game
Referee Graham Salisbury was at the centre of controversy after dishing out three red cards as the 1-1 draw between Lincoln and Cheltenham boiled over.
Salisbury showed a straight red to Lincoln defender Aaron Brown for a 69th minute challenge on Robins' midfielder Theo Lewis.
That sparked a fracas between the two benches and when Salisbury eventually restored order he red carded Lincoln substitute Ian Pearce and Cheltenham replacement goalkeeper Barry Richardson.
And before play could resume Lincoln boss Chris Sutton was sent to the stand after complaining about the referee's decisions.
Moments after the game restarted, Lewis was lucky to stay on the pitch after he flattened Lincoln centre-back Nathan Baker but escaped with a yellow card.
Cheltenham, without a win in 10 games, edged in front after 12 minutes when a poor clearance by Lincoln set up Justin Richards who fired home from inside the box.
The Imps levelled early in the second half with a set piece move. Chris Fagan dummied a corner from Michael Gordon leaving Jamie Clarke to fire home.