text: Brown accused referee Dean Whitestone of a number of "really poor" decisions.
  Whitestone awarded Gillingham a penalty in first-half stoppage time before sending off Southend's Ryan Inniss for two bookable offences.
  "There were four or five decisions that says that referee shouldn't be refereeing at this level," said Brown.
  The 57-year-old claimed Whitestone did not cope with the pressure of the game between two sides separated by the mouth of the Thames.
  "The referee mentioned to me that it was a derby game and he'd heard about the potential friction - but you can't take that into consideration," said Brown.
  "He initially crossed his arms about to wave away the penalty but the next movement he blows for a foul. That, for me, is a referee under pressure.
  "The sending off is even worse - unbelievable refereeing. This was officiating at its worst and someone has to be brought to task. I'm appealing the red card and if I can take it further than that I will."
  Meanwhile, Southend defender and former captain Adam Barrett has announced his retirement at the age of 37.
  Barrett played 354 games in two spells with the club, the last against Stevenage in the EFL Trophy in November.
  He was a member of the Shrimpers side that won back-to-back promotions from League Two to the Championship in 2005 and 2006, and also the League Two play-off final in 2015.
  "He will be remembered as one of Blues' greatest and a true legend," Brown told the club website.
target: Southend manager Phil Brown says the referee for his side's 2-1 defeat at Gillingham should be "brought to task" over his performance.