How many fouls can a water polo player have before they are out?
I · Intermediate · Fouls and cards · 6 of 11Three. Every exclusion foul and every penalty foul is recorded as a personal foul, and a player who collects a third is out for the rest of the game, with a substitute coming in. A yellow card is a warning, most often to the head coach. A red card sends its holder away from the pool.
How it works
- What counts: "A personal foul shall be recorded against any player who commits an exclusion foul or penalty foul."
- Three and out: "Upon receiving a third personal foul, a player shall be excluded from the remainder of the game".
- The substitute: enters at the earliest normal re-entry moment. If the third foul is a penalty foul, the substitute enters at once.
- The yellow card: "an official warning to the Head Coach of the team".
- The red card to the bench: the head coach, another official or a player on the bench "must leave pool area immediately". A referee may show red without a yellow first.
- Without the head coach: another team official takes over without the head coach's privileges. They must stay at the bench, and may still ask for a timeout.
- The red card in the water: shown to a player who commits misconduct, with the penalty for misconduct.
- Yellow to a team: for a player who keeps playing in an unsporting way or simulating. If it continues, the player is shown a red card.
- After the game: the management committee may add a ban from further games.
The glossary has the personal foul, the yellow card and red card and misconduct.
Tricky cases
Do ordinary fouls count towards the three?
No. Only exclusion fouls and penalty fouls are personal fouls.
Does a team play short after a player's third personal foul?
No, not beyond the usual exclusion. A substitute enters at the earliest normal re-entry moment, or at once after a penalty foul.
Can a player with three personal fouls take part in the penalty shoot-out?
No. The shoot-out procedure bars a player with three personal fouls or a red card.
Can a coach be shown a red card without a warning?
Yes. "Should the actions of the Head Coach require it, the referee may issue a Red Card, without having issued a Yellow Card."
Why the rule exists
An exclusion lasts only seconds, so on its own it would be a price worth paying again and again. The count of three puts a limit on how often one player can pay it. The cards do the same job for the bench, which has no personal fouls to collect.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| World Aquatics events | As above | WP 16.1 to 16.3 |
| Improper re-entry | One personal foul, marked as a penalty foul | WP 10.12 |
| A coach's or official's penalty foul | No personal foul is recorded | WP 10.9; WP 10.10 |
| A replayed game | Personal fouls from the replayed time are deleted. Red cards stay | WP 4.4 |
From the rule book
World Aquatics, Competition Regulations, Part Six: Water Polo Rules (in force as from 1 January 2025), Articles 16.1 to 16.3, 9.13 and 10.12, and Appendix 6. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Aquatics Competition Regulations (PDF).