Robins manager Gary Johnson was sent to the stands and five players were booked in a frantic finish to the goalless draw.
Johnson ran on to the pitch to kick the ball away from Swansea's Izzy Iriekpen after the referee had blown for a free-kick to the West Country side.
Forest's hopes of sealing automatic promotion were hit by a 1-0 loss at Millwall.
Neil Harris' header after 53 minutes sunk his old club, leaving Forest five points adrift from automatic promotion.
Blackpool's 3-2 win over Tranmere at Bloomfield Road all but guaranteed them a play-off spot, as they moved up to fifth.
Calvin Zola twice levelled for the visitors, after Keigan Parker then Wesley Hoolahan had put the Seasiders ahead.
Rovers' hopes of getting anything out of the game, and perhaps their play-off hopes, crashed when they had two players sent off within 60 seconds.
After 52 minutes of what had been a keenly-contested game, John Mullin received a straight red card from referee Ray Olivier when he crudely pole-axed Blackpool's Claus Jorgensen.
A melee followed the dismissal and Jason McAteer was always at the centre of the trouble.
First he confronted Jorgensen, and then had a face-to-face clash with Blackpool manager Simon Grayson, ensuring he followed Mullin down the tunnel.
Luke Beckett denied Oldham a win, as his leveller earned Huddersfield a point at Boundary Park. Chris Porter had put the Latics ahead.
Carlisle's 2-0 success at Port Vale keeps them in touch with the play-off pack, while Doncaster were 2-0 winners at Brighton.
Chesterfield boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over Crewe, though they still trail 20th-placed Cheltenham - 2-0 victors at bottom club Brentford - by three points.
Bradford dropped to 22nd after a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, with Spencer Weir-Daley's injury-time header salvaging a point for the struggling Bantams.
Rotherham still have a massive task ahead of them if they are to complete an unlikely escape from the bottom four, but gave themselves hope of avoiding the drop with a dramatic 3-2 win over Gillingham.
Marc Newsham's headed goal, in stoppage time, sealed a win in Mark Robins' first game after being given the manager's position on a full-time basis.
Leyton Orient's 2-0 defeat to Northampton means they're still not fully safe from relegation.