Gareth Ainsworth believes the referee ‘probably handled it in the right way’ after a scrap broke out between the Wycombe Wanderers and Forest Green Rovers players.

The Chairboys, who won the match 2-0 in Gloucestershire, were in a comfortable position by the hour mark before Josh Scowen, on his comeback appearance for Wycombe from injury, was cynically fouled in the middle of the park by Rovers’ Regan Hendry.

READ MORE: Live updates at the New Lawn: Forest Green Rovers 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers

As Scowen laid on the ground, Hendry stood over the former Sunderland man and hurled some chosen words, before several Wanderers players got involved to defend their teammate.

A skirmish between both sides soon occurred which resulted in Hendry, Jack Grimmer, Anis Mehmeti, Harvey Bunker, and Josh March all receiving yellow cards following the confrontation.

Speaking on the incident at the New Lawn Stadium on November 12, Ainsworth said: “The discipline…I have got to pull the boys up as it spilled over a little bit and I didn’t want anyone to get sent off stupidly.

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“But when I watched that tackle on Josh Scowen...wow, that is a nasty tackle.

“It was a really naughty tackle so I can see why the boys got frustrated.

“It’s a nasty one, it’s really high and it warranted a sending off and in the Premier League with VAR, it would have been a sending off.

“But then Joe Jacobson grabbing someone around by the neck is also a sending off as well.

“VAR is not at this level and the referee [Sam Purkiss] probably handled it in the right way as it could have gotten out of hand in the second half.

“Just disappointed that we lost a little bit of coolness but so did the opposition.

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“That’s just football as it’s a full-blooded game, so to see the commitment that the boys showed me today [November 12], it’s fantastic and I’m proud of them.

“I am also proud of the fans as they were brilliant and I am glad that we were able to provide them with some entertainment.

“They came in numbers, we needed them and we couldn’t do it without them.”

The result means Wycombe are now 10th in League One and are just three points off the play-off places.