Less than three weeks before the 1956 Olympics, Soviet tanks rumbled through Budapest, ruthlessly crushing Hungary�s bid for democracy.

Less than three weeks before the 1956 Olympics, Soviet tanks rumbled through Budapest, ruthlessly crushing Hungary's bid for democracy. The Hungarian water polo squad was in a training camp, preparing for Melbourne. They could hear gunfire and see smoke from the burning capital, but not until they arrived in Australia did they know for certain that the rebellion had failed.

Thousands had died, and athletes were uncertain of the safety of family and friends. Several realised they could never go home again.

Hungary met the Soviets in the semi-final, just 32 days after the invasion. Expatriates urged the players on: "Hajra Magyarok!" (Go Hungarians!).

Ervin Zador was 21. He scored two goals, but with a minute left on the clock, and Hungary leading 4-0, the referee blew his whistle. Zador turned, and Soviet captain Valentin Prokopov punched him on the right eye. Zador left the bloodied water, and as 13 stitches were inserted, the referee ended the match early.

Police were called to prevent a riot among the 5500 supporters. It was suggested the match might be replayed, but the result stood, and Hungary went on to beat Yugoslavia in the final, finishing unbeaten.

Zador's face was a bloody mask on the world's front pages, under headlines such as: "Cold War comes to the Olympics". He wept as the team mounted the rostrum. "I was crying for Hungary," he said, "because I knew I wouldn't be returning home."

But who was really to blame? Jack Ferguson, a Scot who played for Britain in that Olympics, was in the front row as a spectator. "It was the referee's fault," he said, recalling the event recently.

"He just never got control. I'd played against the Russians, and they did not have a particularly bad reputation.

The Hungarians did, but there was so much public sympathy for them."

Ferguson was the son of football legend Hugh Ferguson, who scored the goal that took the FA Cup to Cardiff 80 years ago. Jack captained the Scotland water polo team, and was the last Scot to play in the Olympics. He became national coach and team manager, and was deputy director of PE at the St Andrews University until his retirement in 1990.

More than half of Hungary's Olympic team defected. Zador settled in California, where he became a swimming coach. Among his proteges was a youngster called Mark Spitz. He won a record seven Olympic golds for the USA in 1972.