Croatian water polo head coach Ivica Tucak has openly criticized World Aquatics in his statement for RTL Danas, following a World Cup group draw that has placed Croatia in an unusual position. The recent draw determined that Croatia will compete in a group consisting only of themselves and Georgia, playing two matches against each other. In contrast, other groups feature three teams each, engaging in a single round-robin format.
Tucak expressed his frustration over the decision, labeling it as unprecedented and illogical. He questioned the rationale behind the grouping, especially after Italy’s disqualification left an uneven number of teams in the tournament.
“Nobody has encountered such bizarreness, such stupidity before,” Tucak stated. “At the very least, when you know that you have disqualified Italy, then you should find a 12th team based on some ranking. If you didn’t manage that, then we and Georgia should be in a group and play one match, and have one round free.”
He did not hold back in criticizing the leadership of World Aquatics, suggesting that those in charge are neither passionate about nor competent in managing the sport.
“What has been happening lately and what they are trying to do to this sport, I don’t even know if I should comment much more about it,” Tucak continued. “Unfortunately, we are surrounded by people who neither seem to love this sport, nor understand it, nor do they ultimately do good for it. Water polo is a sport that means life to all of us, means something special, and it seems we have come into the hands of people who are completely incompetent and unqualified.”
