The only sound piercing the wail of the vuvuzela was the referee’s whistle, blowing over and over again for an endless series of penalty kicks as players pushed, pulled and wrestled each other to the ground.
Dishing out yellow cards like confetti and making each decision with an air of confidence and authority, the referee knew for once there would be no inquests the following day. No tabloid headlines questioning his eyesight, allegiance or sanity.
The action was taking place at Fifa’s 2010 World Cup training programme for referees, where some of the top whistlers from around the world are put through their paces ahead of their game assignments in South Africa.
Michael Hester, who took charge of the Group B match between South Korea and Greece, said techniques such as recreating the din of the stadium and playing out physical scenarios in the penalty box were essential to ensure the highest standards. “Obviously we train with the noise and we’ve had quite a lot of preparation coming into the tournament of refereeing with noise,” Hester said on Monday.
“Anything that can make it as close to match situations as possible is ideal. It gets you into the zone in that you’re constantly handling match situations on a daily basis so that when you do get the call up you’re ready to go.”
Hester said Fifa had been pumping a lot of resources into developing referees with the aim of getting uniformity in how they handle certain situations. “A common mantra for referees is: ‘big eyes and small ears’. See what needs to be seen and don’t hear too much,” he added. — Reuters