Furious Jim Jefferies claimed Crawford Allan had the worst refereeing performance of the season as Airdrie grabbed another crucial win in their bid for survival.
The Pars dominated possession but struggled to break down a resilient Diamonds side. The home team went in front on the half hour when Kiegan Parker curled a beautiful free-kick into the top corner.
Jim Lister doubled the lead at the end when Ryan Scully booted a clearance off Callum Morris and the striker tapped into an empty net.
The Dunfermline boss said: “We’re very disappointed with the first goal as it was a clear foul the other way.
“The game will be remembered for the crazy decisions that went on. For a grade one referee that’s as poor a performance as we’ve seen all season.
“We played some good football but they’re fighting for their lives. You’ve got to give them credit as they defended well.
“The second goal didn’t matter but it was a complete cock-up. The disappointing thing for me was our lack of quality in the final third.”
Jefferies added: “The play-offs will look after themselves. We’ll be well up for them as each one is like a cup final. It’s probably better the poor form happening now than when they come around
“We’ve got some really good players in there one or two are maybe just off the boil a bit but that will come back.”
Pars defender Danny Grainger said: “We didn’t do ourselves justice today in the final third and with a couple of mistake we’ve come away with a defeat.
“The teams around the bottom are battling for their lives and everyone’s dropping points.
“We just need to get the confidence up going into the play-offs. We need to start picking up points in the next few weeks but if there’s mistakes to be made it’s better to do it now.
“The boys have done fantastic to get us to here and we just need to make sure we get over the line and into the Championship.
“I feel, ability-wise, our squad is the best in the league and I’m more than confident of going up and doing well next season.”