Had the referee decided to send Viduka off instead it would have meant a three-match ban at the start of the season for the striker.
Eirik Bakke opened the scoring after 55 minutes with a chested effort which beat substitute goalkeeper Craig Turns after an Ian Harte corner was flicked on by Jason Wilcox.
But York levelled the scores two minutes later when Christian Fox converted a penalty awarded after Danny Mills had been adjudged to have fouled substitute Stephen Capper.