The Aquatic Integrity Unit (AQIU) judging body has decided to ban the Italian men’s water polo team for six months for violations during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The AQUI ruled that the members of the Italian team showed “serious disregard for the values of Olympism, which include fair play and respect for others, in particular referees” and also “exercised significant and detrimental influence over their adversaries.”
— As part of this sanction, the Italian men’s water polo team is suspended from its participation in the next World Cup organized under the auspices of the World Swimming Federation. Additionally, the team was fined $100,000, of which $50,000 must be paid within 90 days from the date of the decision. The remaining 50,000 will only be paid if the team commits another infraction before October 17, 2026, AQUI said in a statement.
It should be noted that the Italian side can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Italian team lost to the Hungarian team in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympic Games. About two minutes before the end of the match, Italian Francesco Condemi hit the Hungarian goal, but during the throw he hit the one of the opponents in the face. After a VAR review, the referees disallowed the goal and Kondemi was sent off.
After the match, Italian head coach Alessandro Campagna aggressively criticized the work of the referees. The Italian side lodged an official protest against the match result, but this was rejected. Members of the Italian team then surrounded the match officials and World Aquatics delegates in the parking lot, threatening and abusing them verbally and physically. In addition, one of the team members brutally pushed the judge away and another took the phone from an employee who was trying to film the incident.
Italy appealed the jury’s decision to reject their protest during the match, but this was also rejected. Later, in a match against the Spanish team, the Italians openly turned their backs on the referees during the performance of the anthems, and also interrupted the match in every possible way as a sign of protest.
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Source : MatchTV
I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
