Aston Villa manager John Gregory has accused referees of acting ``almost like policemen'' and fourth officials of being ``jobsworths'' after losing his appeal against a Football Association fine in Birmingham.

Gregory was hoping a three-man FA disciplinary commission would overturn a £2,000 fine handed out after fourth official Jeff Winter had reported him for comments aimed at referee Uriah Rennie at Newcastle in August. But they threw out his appeal after a 50-minute hearing at St Andrews and also ordered Gregory to pay the costs.

It left the Villa chief, who admitted to calling Rennie an ``idiot'', feeling disappointed but unrepentant. He said: ``The fine was totally unjust and excessive because every manager in the country utters words which are directed at referees every week. ``I'm very disappointed with the decision of the commission because I thought the charges brought against me by the FA were very trivial.

``I find it very hard to accept that Mr Winter reported me in the first place. I called the referee an idiot and used a few expletives as well. ``I got reported for that. I find that very trivial, and the hearing has been a complete waste of time for everybody. It cost me £2,000, while three or four people from the FA have had to come here today. It's a waste of everybody's time.

``If the fourth official was to report a manager every Saturday for comments he directed at referees then we would have FA commissions meeting every day of the week.'' Gregory vowed to continue his attacks against referees for poor performances and in recent weeks he has been critical of Winter, Rob Harris and David Elleray. He said: ``Unfortunately, I don't think anything will get done. What upsets me is that referees almost act like policemen, and the fourth officials are becoming jobsworths.

``They are reporting managers up and down the country for stepping outside their technical area. You can see what they are like in the way they conduct themselves. ``What we need to get back to is what that game is all about - and that's the players on the pitch. One or two officials this season have upset a lot of us - not just me but many people throughout all four divisions.''