Fans are calling out one of the worst-ever cases of referee incompetence.
Viral footage taken at a Versus grappling event in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on Sunday has infuriated and disgusted MMA fans in equal measure.
Sven Groten was lucky to escape with his limbs still intact when he got trapped in a triangle-armbar submission during his match against Rene Haendel.
The German grappler immediately tapped out, but the referee missed it and moments later he fell completely unconscious. It was clear for all to see.
Unfortunately, the incompetent official missed that as well and Groten’s opponent continued to apply pressure to his arm until it seemingly snapped in half.
Haendel looked at the referee hoping for an intervention but there was more hesitation, and it caused a panic from the commentators who began screaming ‘He’s out!’
Eventually, the two men were separated and Groten regained his senses.
Footage of the scary incident has been viewed by over a million people on X – formerly known as Twitter – and everyone is blaming the same person for what happened.
One angry fan said: “The ref should be banned and fined.”
Another commented: “Ref was sleeping too.”
A third person added: “Disgraceful. Hopefully immediately after the ref got in trouble.”
Someone else fumed: “Dawg put that ref in jail OMG.”
Groten has since taken to Instagram to provide fans with an update on his condition and also slam the referee for failing to intervene before he got injured.
“So that sucked,” he wrote alongside a picture showing off his injured arm.
“Got choked out and my elbow dislocated. No bone damage, more info to come.
“I’m in the hands of the best medical professionals. Thanks to the crew of Versus Events for caring and all reaching out individually. Ref failed terribly though.
“There’s absolutely no blame on my opponent Rene Haendel you were better yesterday. I’ll crush you next time we compete. That’s a promise.
“I’ll be back. Better.”
News Summary:
- ‘Put that ref in jail’ – Fans fume at grim footage of unconscious fighter getting arm snapped
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