The final match of the competition between Malta and Iran was abandoned with 33 seconds in the match, with the host team leading 8–6.
The referees had excluded two Maltese and five Iranian players because of a series of altercations erupted after Malta scored the last goal, but the verbal fights increased between the players who were already outside the pool. Although there was no physical violence involved, all of the remaining players in the game rushed out of the water to support their teammates.
The referees decided to cancel the game and refer the incidents to the FINA technical committee under the relevant disciplinary rules. Both finalists were disqualified, thus awarding the Trophy to Uruguay, winner of the 3rd place final.[4][5][6][7]