1936: Article of “El Grafico” about the rules

Article of the Argentinean magazine “El Grafico” of 9 May 1936, expressing serious concerns about the actual Water Polo rules and their different interpretation in Europe and America. “If Water Polo continues to be played in the way it is today, it will continue to be the inferno of the players….”.
After the World War II at the first international event, the European Championships of 1947 in Monte Carlo the experts noted that the game had not developed at all, suffering a setback. Roughness became widespread and there were more whistling than actual play during the game.
Following London 1948 Olympic, in 1949 the FINA International Water Polo Board proposed the testing of Argentinean rules, giving thus the possibility to the players to move after the whistling of the referees. The effect was immediate, changing drastically the character of the game.
Source: "El Grafico" 1936; courtesy of Juan Antonio Sierra