Brutal penalties couldn’t stop the USA men’s water polo team.
Jonny Hooper received a rare brutality penalty for striking Australia’s Chaz Poot in the head during Team USA’s 11-10 shootout victory in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday at La Defense Arena.
The controversial penalty resulted in Hooper being sent off, and Australia scored on the subsequent penalty throw, allowing the USA to fight back and advance to the semi-finals.
NBC analyst Tony Azevdeo disagreed.
“(Puto) had his hand on his head, so he tried to shake him off and then punched him in the head,” Azevedo said.
“They’re grabbing each other. They should both be kicked out. And yes, he’s hitting him from above, but that’s a reaction to someone grabbing your head underwater. What reaction should I have to get free and breathe when I don’t have the ability to breathe? Get him off me. In that sense, it’s not violence.”
Punishment for atrocities occurs “very rarely.” USA Water Polo website “When a player commits an offense and demonstrates a clear intent to injure other players, this is far more serious than mere violence,” the statement said.
The scramble came just as America’s Max Irving was supposed to score the tying goal with 19 seconds left in the first period.
2024 Paris Olympics
With Mr. Azevedo Olympic Games Overview Poot testified that he was holding Hooper’s head underwater when Hooper jumped over him and struck Poot in the head.
The umpires reviewed the play on video and ruled the penalty and goal invalid, giving Australia a 2-1 lead with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
Poot was ejected from the field for the play.
“Certainly, you can tell this is a punch to the head, but he holds the guy’s head underwater and doesn’t let him breathe for 30 seconds,” Azevedo said.
“You can see Puto laughing on the bench saying: ‘I can’t believe such a cruel decision was made, VAR needs to improve here’.”
Australia scored on the ensuing penalty throw, then scored two more goals during the four penalty minutes to take a 5–2 lead.
The U.S. fought back to send the game into a penalty shootout, winning 4-3 and setting up a spot in Friday’s semifinals against defending Olympic champion Serbia.
Hooper, who scored Team USA’s first goal, will likely not play in this game because Team USA rules state that a player who receives a violent conduct penalty is barred from playing “at a minimum” the next game.
“I’m tired,” U.S. attackman Marko Vavich said of the win. According to the Associated Press“We’re both playing for our country and trying to get to the semi-finals, it’s something we dream about since we were kids. We all gave it our all.”
