South Africa and France both went down to 14 men after Antoine Dupont was shown a red card for taking out Cheslin Kolbe in the air.
The Springbok winger jumped to catch a Faf de Klerk chip, before Dupont ran into his airborne legs, causing Kolbe to completely flip and almost land directly on his head.
It was the second time that a World Player Of The Year was sent off in the match, after Pieter-Steph du Toit was given his marching orders on 11 minutes for a dangerous clear out on Jonathan Danty.
Wayne Barnes was told to look at the Kolbe incident on the big screen.
"So - not in position to contest the ball, plays the man in the air, lands dangerously.
"Okay, number nine. Red card. Anyone disagree?" said Barnes as the TMO Brian MacNeice agreed with the decision.
Commentator Jamie Lyall was in shock as the French superstar left the field.
"Antoine Dupont. French rugby's greatest talent, the golden child of Stade Velodrome is ordered from the field and it's 14-a-piece for the last half hour.
"And France have now been shorn of their skipper. But the most important thing, as Dupont receives a thunderous ovation from the Velodrome crowd, is to make sure that Cheslin Kolbe is okay."
Barnes was asked to make sure that Kolbe was okay by the doctors and the wing assured the English referee that he was ready to continue.
"I'm fine, let's go." said Kolbe.
Despite this, he was taken from the field immediately for a head injury assessment.
The match went on to be a classic, with France securing a win against the world champions, despite their captain being dismissed.
Sipili Falatea's try on 73 minutes helped secure the victory, with Thomas Ramos nailing a penalty with 90 seconds to go to extend the lead. The final score was 30-26 in Marseille.
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