How do I record personal fouls, and when do I signal a third?
Rule- South Africa
- Swimming South Africa
- Water polo
- World Aquatics rules
- Table officials
- All ages
- 2025/26
- Officials
Under World Aquatics rules (Part Six, Articles 3.11 and 17):
- A personal foul is recorded against a player for every exclusion foul or penalty foul (not ordinary fouls).
- The Referee shows the offending player's cap number to the secretary, who records it on the match record.
- When the Referee awards a player's third personal foul, the secretary signals it with the red flag (or another approved signal).
- The player is then excluded for the rest of the match. If the third foul was a penalty foul, a substitute may enter immediately; otherwise the substitute enters at the normal exclusion re-entry point.
No personal foul is recorded when a penalty is awarded because a coach or team official called an invalid timeout or acted to delay the match. If a player commits improper entry straight after committing a foul, they receive only one personal foul.
Added 22 Oct 2026