Fans have witnessed a shocking incident during a water polo match between the US and Australia at the Paris Olympics, in which an American athlete appears to pull on a rival’s swimming trunks.
The moment was surprisingly broadcast on television as a replay and inevitably picked up by a viewer who recorded the footage and uploaded it to TikTok.
An Australian player can be clearly seen wrestling with an opponent who appears to be wearing the American flag on the back of his swimming trunks.
The Australian is grabbed underwater with his own suitcases and dragged away, but one of the underwater cameras positioned right behind him captured the footage.
The American athlete appears to have the number 7 on his swimming cap, which according to the American Water Polo website could mean the player in question is Ben Hallock, who played for 15 minutes of the game.
Fans have noticed a shocking incident during a water polo match between the US and Australia
An American water polo player appeared to grab his rival’s swimming trunks underwater
On August 7, the US defeated Australia on penalty kicks in the men’s water polo match.
The clip, which was uploaded to TikTok with the caption: ‘What happens in water polo?’
And while many fans were shocked after seeing the clip – some claimed it was “sexual assault” – others explained that it was actually a common move.
One fan commented: ‘Unfortunately, that’s pretty common. Men usually wear two speedos for this reason. Women kick each other to scratch their legs.’
Another said: ‘This is very common in wp (water polo)! So we wear two suits or suits that are too small but no one has an underwater camera until you get to the Olympics.’
Another fan claimed: ‘Water polo is actually weird. Sometimes people sharpen their toenails to cut you underwater.’
A more surprised viewer said, “The camera people just have to keep the cameras above water, on everything.”
The US team will return to Olympic action on Sunday in the bronze medal match against Hungary.