Combat sports fans are up in arms over how long it took the referee to stop a grappling match at a recent Versus Invitational event in the Netherlands.
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Versus Invitational 4 took place in Eindhoven, Netherlands last weekend and featured a stacked card of grappling bouts, including Grand Prix tournaments for an -88kg No Gi division and a -77kg Gi division.
The final bout for the -88kg Grand Prix saw German grapplers René Haendel and Sven Groton square off to see who would walk away as the tournament winner, but unfortunately the match ended with a disturbing scene after the referee apparently failed to see Groton tap (clip courtesy of @Max_Randall).
Worst ref job in history at yesterdays Versus invitational.
Guy taps, then goes to sleep, then gets his arm snapped while unconscious, THEN keeps getting choked for like 7 seconds while asleep.
THEN the ref does the useless Brazilian-leg-lift.#BJJ #MMA pic.twitter.com/M2E3vAuVlU
— Max Randall (@Max_Randall) June 24, 2024
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With Groton already stuck in a triangle, Haendel extended his compatriot’s arm to a gruesome angle and looked up in confusion when the referee made no move to step in and stop the match.
Groton appeared to tap once before he went unconscious from the triangle, but even after Haendel forced the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt’s arm to pop it still took several seconds for the referee to finally intervene.
The visual of Groton’s arm during the match’s finishing sequence was an ugly one, but the German grappler updated fans via Instagram and indicated that his elbow had luckily only been dislocated.
Groton did make sure to note that the “ref failed terribly though” during the match with Haendel, and it’s fortunate that the referee’s delayed reaction at Versus Invitational 4 doesn’t appear to have resulted in any lasting damage to the German grappler.
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