Article on Advantage Rule 7-3:
Actively Promoting Offensive Action
by refraining from or delaying a foul call
The Advantage Rule states, “The referees shall refrain from declaring a foul if, in their opinion, such a declaration would be an advantage to the offending player’s team. The referees shall not declare an ordinary foul when there is still a possibility to play the ball."
Correct use of the Advantage Rule serves to
promote offensive action, maintain offensive advantage, and preserve the flow of the game as dictated by the offense.
These offense-oriented goals are important for referees to acknowledge to either:
1) make a good foul call; or
2) delay in calling a defensive foul in favor of an offensive advantage.
The referee should always give a player with the ball, who is making progress toward the opponent’s goal, the opportunity to score even when an ordinary defensive foul is being committed, because otherwise "... this is considered to give an advantage to the offender’s team.”
In addition, the rules section "Promoting Offensive Action" declares, "It is always permissible for the referee to delay their whistle briefly to make sure that any offensive advantage is not taken away."
The application of the Advantage Rule, while instituted for the objective of “Promoting Offensive Action,” also asks the Water Polo referee to assess offensive game-situations and make judgments as to whether or not calling an ordinary, defensive foul will take away the offensive advantage.
Practically, this means a referee can wait until the possibility to play the ball by the offense is lost before calling a defensive foul which may have occurred moments earlier. If there exists an 'offensive advantage', meaning the offense is able to make progress for a direct or indirect scoring chance by playing the ball, the referee should either,
1) make no ordinary, defensive foul call; or
2) make a delayed foul call once the ball has become unplayable for the offense.
An eye to the concept of promoting offensive action will aid a referee's correct application of the 'Advantage Rule.' Knowing how, if, and when to call an ordinary, defensive foul when applying the Advantage Rule will be easier
once the idea that, by not calling a foul the offense is being given a better opportunity to score than would an ordinary foul call in the same circumstance.
Furthermore, the referee should maintain the option to delay a foul-call during an offensive advantage but to then call the same ordinary foul if offensive advantage is lost. Proper application of the Advantage Rule will allow the referee to maintain a good flow of offensive game-action while fulfilling the Rule Book's instruction to promote offensive action.
