Former Bundesliga referee Manfred Amerell has been found dead at his home in Munich.
Amerell's body was discovered on Tuesday and in a statement the German FA (DFB) confirmed a post-mortem took place on Wednesday. They said the 65-year-old was identified from his dental records.
The statement added: "According to local police commissioner Frank Hellwig, before the post-mortem there was 'no evidence of an accident, suicide or foul play'."
Amerell was a referee for 10 years during the 1980s and 1990s before joining the DFB to become a spokesman for match officials in Germany.
However, he resigned from that post in February 2012 following allegations of sexual harassment against a young Bundesliga referee.
Amerell strenuously denied the allegations at the time.
The Minstermen host strugglers Bristol Rovers this weekend before a visit from league leaders Gillingham seven days later.
A run of three straight defeats resulted in some travelling fans venting their anger towards the team and management at Plymouth last weekend.
But Smith is aware all at the club need to pull together to see the Minstermen over the hard times.
He told The Press: "At the end, we were going over to clap them and thank them (the fans) irrespective of the result.
"There were a few booing and some fans were shouting stuff at certain players, management and staff. If that's what they want to do, but some of the verbals were a little harsh."
He added: "They have every right not to be happy with the performance and we wanted to thank them for making the effort.
"They had probably spent a lot of money and I know it's disappointing for them, but we feel it as well."
