Time penalties are given to players for severe or repeated fouls. While a player is serving a penalty, their team must keep the same number of players in the sub box and they will play down a player. The guidelines for when to give penalties and for how long vary depending on the foul. Most time penalties are player specific, and the referee will point to the player that is receiving the penalty, then point to the ref and time table, and signal the penalty length.
Penalties can be one, two or five minutes, or can escalate to full game dismissal, or even tournament dismissal.
When a player is serving a penalty, the chief referee will inform them when they can reenter the play.
The referee calls a player for obstruction and gives him a one minute time penalty. The player then goes to the penalty box, where he exits the water for the time of the penalty.