Gillingham influenced 'soft' penalty - Appleton

Michael Appleton's Shrewsbury have lost just two of their past eight league games

Shrewsbury boss Michael Appleton has claimed "soft" decisions by referee Aaron Farmer were influenced by Gillingham staff in Saturday's League Two draw between the sides.

The hosts led 3-1, only to concede twice in the final half hour to end a run of three successive home league wins.

Appleton had hoped the return of former Shrewsbury manager Gareth Ainsworth with Gillingham would help create a lively atmosphere, but believed the Gills management team instead had a different effect on the game.

"I'm a little bit angry and annoyed with the referee for a couple of reasons," he told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"He gave them an opportunity to get back in the game with a soft penalty. But the irony behind it all, and it was plain to see for everybody, was that the guy who got the penalty sarcastically clapped him while he was already on a yellow card.

"The fact the referee saw the player and spoke to him and then didn't do anything about it, I found a little disappointing.

"He was probably influenced by their staff at half-time which was a little bit more of a disappointment."

Appleton was particularly aggrieved at the 66th-minute penalty award which brought Gillingham back to 3-2 before eventually levelling with four minutes left.

"That [challenge] must have happened five or six times today for both sides," he said.

"For me it was a little bit soft and set the tone for the final 20 minutes.

"I said it to the referee - and I wasn't being rude, I didn't do it in any aggressive manner - I just felt there was a bit of influence from what was said at half-time that affected his decision-making."

The draw left Shrewsbury 20th in League Two, just a point above the bottom two.

Next up for Shrewsbury is a trip to National League side Sutton United in the FA Cup on Saturday before they return to league action at home to Grimsby the following Tuesday.