LISBON, Portugal -- Witness the standout moment (for all the wrong reasons) of Day One of the IBJJF Europeans. 

A white belt match between Claudio Lopes and Marc Garcia ended with a DQ on Tuesday when Lopes, a Portuguese grappler, picked up Garcia and slammed him to the mat to escape a triangle choke. 

Garcia was briefly KO'd by the move, an illegal technique and an instant disqualification. The referee's reaction (or lack of) raised concerns among onlookers. 

The referee is only permitted to use three verbal commands during a match -- start, action, and stop. So he was unable to warn the athlete that slamming his opponent was against the rules. 

However, the referee did not immediately stop the match when Garcia got slammed and only paused the action when Lopes himself looked up at the referee as he advanced position. 

We were matside during the incident: the ref didn't call a medic, allowing Garcia to walk off by himself unaided. Unfortunately, Garcia was unable to continue in the competition due to the injury, as he was told by medics to keep fighting was unsafe. 

The IBJJF reviewed the video and has stated it will take appropriate action going forward to rectify any potential safety issues.

An example of refereeing done well in a similar situation 

Below you can see a match that took place around the same time where a similar situation occurred. 

The grappler in white picks up his opponent much the same as in the first video. The referee positions himself so that he could block the slam if necessary, putting his hands out to signal that he is ready to catch the athlete if necessary. 

The athlete with the white gi was still DQ'd because he walked out of bounds, but both competitors walked off the mats unharmed.