Sharks star Werner Kok was shown a yellow card against Bordeaux-Begles for a wild clearout in the second round of the Heineken Champions Cup that left many fans asking how it wasn't a red.
The Sharks made it two wins out of two in the competition, with a 19-16 victory. It is the first year that South African teams have been involved in the European tournament.
Despite scoring a crucial try, Kok made headlines when he launched Jean-Baptiste Dubié over his head as the Frenchman attempted to win a turnover.
Rugby on BT Sport, who posted the clip to Twitter, captioned the video: "Good, Lord! Werner Kok with a suplex! Fortunately, Jean-Baptiste Dubié returns to his feet."
The suplex is a wrestling move which was popularised by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), and is defined by Collins Dictionary as "a wrestling hold in which a wrestler grasps an opponent round the waist from behind and carries him or her backwards".
The crowd at Stade Chaban-Delmas met the challenge with a cacophony of jeering, while medical staff raced onto the field. Immediately after the incident, referee Christophe Ridley clarified that the player landed on his back, not his head.
Ridley showed Kok a yellow card and said "it's a dangerous lift, you're lucky he landed on his back". The South Africa Sevens man was visibly apologetic to the Bordeaux crowd and held up his hands to them. He then approached Dubié, who was back to his feet, and apologised directly to him before leaving the field.
Many fans were perplexed by the lack of a sending off, with concussion lobby group Progressive Rugby responding to the video of the incident by saying "What on earth?".
"If I was victim of this clear out and the opponent was only given a yellow, I’d be absolutely furious. So, so dangerous and entirely unnecessary," said another.
"He may have landed on his back but that has to be outlawed and should be punishable with a red," added another.
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