i have been harping on this for years [see New Rules for 2025 - #20 by GoBears]
water polo has one of the worst ref to player ratios of all sports [1 ref / 7 players]
- football = 1 ref / 3.1 players
- ice hockey = 1 ref / 3 players
- volleyball = 1 ref / 3 players
- basketball = 1 ref / 3.3 players
- soccer = 1 ref / 7.3 players [offsides help to limit the field of play]
its hard to think logistically how a 3rd ref would interact with the other two and the role/responsibility they have.
that said, given all of the new rules changes and tournaments played with experimental rules, their should be some goal to better this ref to player ratio