Hythe manager Clive Cook is still trying to work out why one of his players was sent off on Saturday.

Mitchell Dickenson, on the stretch, missed the ball and fouled Carshalton’s Tommy Bradford inside his own half.

Less than five seconds later, the referee was holding his red card aloft to the amazement of the former Gillingham defender, who now faces a three-match ban.

Cook said: “I’ve been watching it all weekend and it’s not a sending-off in a million years.

“He went into the tackle but got pulled back. You can see him getting his left shoulder pulled back and I thought it was a free-kick the other way.

“His left leg’s underneath him and his right leg did make contact but that’s because he was off balance. He didn’t go in with his foot up, it was where he was pulled back.

“The ref turned round and said he gave a straight red because he wanted to calm everyone down and that if he didn’t need to do that, it would have been a yellow. I completely don’t understand that.

“It’s yellow or red. To me, it was a yellow and have a word. It was the 45th minute and it wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity.

“It’s not as if it was a two-footer. It’s so frustrating.”

Cook was left fuming by the award of a late penalty against his side earlier this season and the inconsistency of officiating continues to infuriate him.

He said: “You either get a good one – and you do get very good ones in this league – or you get ones who cost you. That decision cost us.

“It’s so annoying because to be told that and then ‘it should have been a yellow’ or whatever he said, you just think ‘really?’ because that costs us.

“He said that to powers above me. It’s not as if it was said to me or the assistant manager.

“I queried it, of course I did. I said to him ‘what are you putting in?’ and he said ‘I’ll tone it right down.’

“Hang on, you sent him off for violent conduct and he just said ‘leave it with me’.”

Hythe, who played Greenwich last night (Tuesday), go to Horsham on Saturday before hosting VCD Athletic on Tuesday.