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The Adjudicatory Body of the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) issued a 6-month suspension to the Italian Men’s Water Polo Team after incidents at the Olympics. Archive photo via Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Recent college swimmers Lily DeSpain and Alexandra Turvey were selected as 2024 NCAA Woman of the Year top 30 honorees out of 627 nominees.
The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men’s and women’s college water polo.
USC faces the No. 10 Aggies at 12 p.m. on Saturday before the Trojans’ Alumni Game at 1:30 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
The Bruins had a total of eight players score in the contest, paced by a hat trick from freshman Ryder Dodd.
It’s the second such selection for both standouts, who are USC’s top scorers this season for the 15-2 Trojans.
October 24th, 2024
The Adjudicatory Body of the Aquatics Integrity Unit (AQIU) has announced the suspension of the Italian Men’s Water Polo Team from competition for a period of 6 months for violating Article 5 of the World Aquatics Integrity Code.
The full text of Article 5, titled “Duties of Good Conduct” can be found below. This article, in particular, dictates that in competition, athletes must act with respect towards teammates, opponents, and officials. According to the World Aquatics/AQIU press release, the violations occurred at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games following the team’s quarterfinal match against Hungary on August 7, 2024, and during the classification match against Spain on August 8, 2024.
During the match against Hungary, the Italian player Francesco Condemi was ejected from the game after he struck Hungarian opponent Szilard Jansik while scoring a goal. In addition to the ejection, Condemi’s goal was invalidated by officials following a video review, and the Italian team was forced to play the remainder of the match man-down, with only 4 players in the field. Hungary ultimately won the game in a shoot-out, with Italian coaches immediately issuing a protest of the officiating during the game, players also verbally chastised the officials following the match.
Following that incident, the players then turned their backs on the officials during the national anthem during their next game against Spain in protest of the previous calls. The team also reportedly failed to engage in several pre-game protocols during the match against Spain as part of their protest.
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Italy finished in 7th place after being knocked-out of the tournament in a shootout loss to Hungary during the quarter-finals. Earlier in the year, the team won a silver medal at the 2024 World Championships.
As a result of the suspension, the Italian team will be barred from participating in any World Aquatics-sponsored tournaments or events for a period of 6 months. Notably, this will prevent the team from participating in the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup, one of the primer water polo tournaments. In addition, the team will have to pay at least $50,000 USD in fines, with penalties increasing up to $100,000 if a repeat offense is committed before October 17, 2026.
“Article 5 DUTIES OF GOOD CONDUCT
5.1 Covered Persons must always act honestly, fairly, impartially and in
accordance with the highest ethical standards of integrity and
transparency.
5.2 Covered Persons must avoid any conduct that is inconsistent with or
that undermines in any way the objectives of this Integrity Code.
5.3 Covered Persons must avoid acts or omissions that give the
appearance of impropriety, or that disparage World Aquatics, or that
bring (or have the potential to bring) World Aquatics, Aquatics and/or
sport generally into disrepute.
5.4 Covered Persons must not be involved with entities or persons whose
activities or reputations are inconsistent with the principles set out in
this Integrity Code. In order for this provision to apply, it is necessary
that the Covered Person has previously been advised in writing by
World Aquatics, a Continental Organisation, a World Aquatics Member,
or other relevant authority with jurisdiction over the Covered Person
that there should be no more association with such entity/person,
and of the consequences that will apply if any association continues.
5.5 Covered Persons must avoid any offensive, violent or disrespectful
behaviour towards other participants, including, the officials, other
athletes, media, and/or spectators during the entire conduct of a
competition. Such behaviour towards a doping control official is also
prohibited at any time.
5.6 Covered Persons must avoid any act of discrimination against anyone
on the basis of race, skin colour, gender, religion, sexual orientation,
language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth, disability or any other ground.
5.7 Covered Persons must avoid interference, disobedience or
obstruction to the orderly conduct of any sporting event within or
outside of the venue(s).
5.8 Covered Persons must avoid interference with any aspect of the field
of play.
5.9 Covered Persons must actively participate in the full conduct of the
competition, including victory ceremonies and, if applicable,
presentations and/or press conferences. Any political or religious
statement or behaviour is strictly prohibited during these times.
5.10 Athlete Support Personnel shall cooperate with the anti-doping
testing program and shall not use or possess any substance or
method prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Code without valid
justification.”
In addition to the ejection, Condemi’s goal was invalidated by officials following a video review, and the Italian team was forced to play the remainder of the match man-down, with only 4 players in the field.
There are normally six players in the field (and one in goal) in water polo. Did Italy have to play with two men down or did they play with five in the field?
I was surprised in two ways by this article: first that it wasn’t for drugs, and secondly that their behavior was so juvenile.
Nicole has been with SwimSwam since April 2020, as both a reporter and social media contributor. Prior to joining the SwimSwam platform, Nicole also managed a successful Instagram platform, amassing over 20,000 followers. Currently, Nicole is pursuing her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After competing for the swim …
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