Incompetent referee stands by as jiu-jitsu competitor pull off brutally late nap and snap submission | Video

This referee was asleep at the wheel.

Sven Groten and Rene Haendel went against each other in a jiu-jitsu match at Versus International this past weekend (June 23, 2024). Unfortunately for Groten, he got the worst-case outcome thanks to an absurdly awful referee.

Haendel caught Groten in a reverse triangle choke and began searching for armbars. Amid the joint-lock pursuit, Groten tapped then passed out immediately after as the referee stood by and watched on before Haendel cranked Groten’s left arm backward. He stared at the referee after the 90-degree angle was created with his unconscious opponent’s limb. Then the referee decided to step in to wave off the action, as seen in the embedded player above. Groten is in good spirits now, revealing his arm didn’t break but was dislocated by the referee delay.

“So that sucked,” Groten said on Instagram. “Got choked out and my elbow dislocated. No bone damage, more info to come.

“I’m in the hand of the best medical professionals with @sportsdoccgn and @pi.physio,” he continued. “Thanks to the crew of @versus.events for caring and all reaching out individually. Ref failed terribly though. There’s absolute no blame on my opponent @rene_haen you where better yesterday. I’ll crush you next time we compete. That’s a promise. I’ll be back. Better.”

Here’s to hoping someone buys that referee some new glasses sooner rather than later.