ANDY HESSENTHALER slammed former footballer turned referee Steve Baines with a stinging rebuke after Tuesday night's 2-1 defeat by Norwich at Carrow Road.

The Gills boss was incensed that Baines, a former centre-back with Nottingham Forest and Chesterfield whom the FA regard as a role model for ex-professionals wanting to take up refereeing, gave Norwich a disputed first half penalty and rejected strong Gillingham appeals for another late in the game.

Hessenthaler said: "Marlon King's ankles were caught as he's gone through. It caused him to lose balance and shoot wide. The referee's assistant had a clear view and gave nothing.

"But the referee gave Norwich a penalty which was an absolute disgrace. How he can give a penalty there is surprising because there is no way it could be handball against Guy Butters. Justice was done because the penalty was saved.

"What concerns me is the lack of consistency. Referees are being paid a decent wage and they've got to start being professional because at the moment they're not."

Hessenthaler also pulled no punches about his team's defending, which allowed Norwich to claw their way back into the game just as Gillingham looked set to become only the third side to win at Carrow Road this season.

"We played well in the first half and we knew they would come out strongly in the second," he said. "We stressed this at half time but we didn't defend properly. The young lad McVeigh, who came on for the second half, changed the game for them and caused us problems.

"Because we gave such a good performance in the first half it makes it all the more disappointing that we've come away with nothing. But we didn't cope with them for the first 20 minutes of the second half. We were too loose, we dropped off and let them come at us."