The 2017 FINA World Water Polo Development Trophy was the 6th edition of the tournament organized by FINA and reserved for national teams from emerging countries in the world of water polo. It ran from 17 to 22 October 2017 at the Tal-Qroqq Sports Complex in Gà ¼ira, Malta; eight teams from four continental confederations participated at the competition.
Uruguay won the 3rd place match, but was later awarded the Trophy due to the disqualification of both Malta and Iran during the gold-medal final.
The final match of the competition between Malta and Iran was abandoned with 33 seconds in the match, with the host team leading 8âÂÂ6.
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.