Nigel Owens was forced to send off Argentina star Tomas Lavanini after just 17 minutes following a dangerous high tackle on England's Owen Farrell.
Second row Tomas Lavanini was dismissed early in the match after driving his shoulder into Farrell's head, with England leading 5-3 at the time.
Owens, who initially missed the incident, deemed there was "not enough mitigation" to avoid a red card after consulting with the TMO.
He said: "The law is quite clear that we look after the safety of the players. You were always high, you were leading with the shoulder and you made contact with the head of the number 10 who has not come down enough of a height for me to give you anything but a red card.
"It's a shoulder to the head with a high degree of danger."
Despite the blow to the head, Farrell did not leave the pitch for a head injury assessment.
It came shortly after Owens had to step in to break down a mass confrontation between the two sets of players following a late tackle on scrum-half Ben Youngs.
Lavanini becomes the fifth player to be sent off at the Rugby World Cup - the second for a high tackle on Farrell.
USA's John Quill was dismissed earlier in the tournament for a shocking tackle on Farrell that was described as a "disgraceful cheap shot" by ITV pundit Ugo Monye.
He was later banned for three matches.
The England v Argentina game always seemed destined to be a feisty affair, with the Pumas declaring themselves "ready for war" in the build-up and accusing England of being boring.
