Crawley boss Scott Lindsey admitted he was “absolutely fuming” at being denied a “legitimate goal” in the 1-0 home defeat against Crewe.
A superb late volley from Tommi O’Reilly settled the match and kept Crewe in the pack chasing the top seven teams in League Two.
But Lindsey, who has overhauled his squad with 13 new signings in January, felt Danilo Orsi’s effort on the hour mark should have stood.
Orsi was adjudged by referee Benjamin Speedie to have handled, and Lindsey said: “It was a really good goal and I’m absolutely fuming.
“Once again we’re talking about the officials. We scored a legitimate goal but it was ruled out.
“It (the standard of refereeing) is not improving and I text Mike Jones (head of refereeing for the EFL) during the game. It ruins the job and the match day.”
Lindsey also criticised his team, beaten for the first time in four games, for being “loose” in the first half, but felt after the break they “played well to a degree”.
He added: “We cannot play for half a game against anyone.”
Crewe manager Lee Bell called on his side not to “waste” only their second away win in the last four months.
Bell said: “It’s taken us about three years to get to this point and build the kind of culture that we think we’ve got.
“We mustn’t waste results like this. We’ve come away and beaten a very good side that have actually just been put together recently and have some quality.
“We must be careful not to waste it and keep reproducing that kind of performance and result.”
Aston Villa loanee O’Reilly, who also hit the winner in Crewe’s home win over Crawley in August, drew special praise from Bell – who admitted he has been concerned about the number of minutes the midfielder has played.
Bell added: “We’ve had concerns but decided to keep him on the pitch, and a really good goal won it for us by a really good player.”
