A junior rugby match, staged as a curtain-raiser before the Oxfordshire Plate Cup final on Sunday had to be abandoned after one of the managers was shown the red card.

The incident occurred in an under 15 match between Bicester and Abingdon which was a prelude to the clash between the club's senior teams in the Plate final at Gosford All Blacks' Stratfield Brake ground.

The Bicester manager Derek Farebrother, whose team were leading 12-10 at the time, went onto the field in the second half to protest to referee Andy Halliwell after one of his players had been sent to the sinbin for dissent.

After being requested to leave the field, Farebrother was ordered off the field of play and told to go to the changing rooms.

At which point, some spectators were under the impression that the Bicester manager had led his side off the field.

Farebrother disputed this, saying that the referee had abandoned the game.

Halliwell declined to make any public comment.

Farebrother explained: "I first went on to the field in my role as touch judge to complain about Abingdon's use of replacements. I also mentioned that I thought the referee was wrong to sin-bin a player.

"The referee told me to get off the field. I carried on speaking to him and he showed me the red card.

"I said I would stand away from the pitch, but he insisted that I go to the changing room. I told him that I didn't want to leave our players without any help on the sidelines."

Farebrother, whose son Thomas captains the Bicester team, denied leading his team off the field and said that he was just about to go to the dressing rooms, when the referee abandoned the game.

"I do now regret what I did, and admit I can be a bit hot-headed at times. But the referee was much too officious. There's a difference between handling men's and boys' games."

Farebrother, a former Bicester Town footballer, feared he could be punished for his actions.

"If I do get suspended, that will be the end of the team, because no one else gets involved," he said.

The incident was witnessed by Oxfordshire RFU officials in a crowd of about 50, and the Bicester club are certain to be reported over the matter.

One county official said: "There have been a number of incidents of junior coaches coming on to the pitch and this sort of thing has got to stop."