The one thing I can say about the vuvuzelas controversy – it does make officiating more difficult.
There have been a number of times players have continued running even after being caught offside because they failed to hear the referee’s whistle in the sheer din.
In the Netherlands vs Denmark match one could see Van Persie trying to explain to the referee that he was unable to hear the whistle in all the noise. And in the Germany vs Australia match, Marco Rodriguez booked Carl Valeri for continuing to play after the whistle was blown for offside. Valeri protested that he was unable to hear the whistle. The replays showed he had a genuine case.
Here is a vuvuzela sound file. It has been measured at 127 decibels. A referee’s whistle (sound file) is measured at 121.8 decibels.
The two are comparable in decibel level but with 40,000 + vuvuzelas in the stadium blowing non stop for 90 minutes, the whistle often times cannot be heard especially if the referee is removed from the scene, as in an offside which is typically flagged by linesmen. If the player spots them, well and good. If not, then the referee has to bring it to his attention.
In this case, the people with the least bias, both cultural and sporting, are the ones that FIFA will most likely listen to. Those happen to be the referees. Matches have been officiated with vuvuzelas blaring on before without mishap. But this is the World Cup. 32 countries playing a total of 64 matches. The chances of referees making mistakes similar to Marco Rodriguez do go up. Reducing the variability of refereeing errors is essential and if the vuvuzelas significantly increase them, then FIFA will likely seek some sort of prohibition.
On the other hand, one wonders if the critics of the vuvuzelas were so adamant about their invasive quality, then one would expect only the South African fans using them in their country’s matches. But you have fans from pretty much every part of the world blowing their vuvuzelas to their hearts content. Germany vs Australia, Netherlands vs Denmark, the list goes on.
The manufacturers themselves are toning down their volume. New vuvuzelas will be 20 db less than their predecessors. For those who watch matches on TV, one can turn down the buzzing sound using the pro logic mode.
I suspect if the ball is round, kick it. If it looks like a flute, blow it. It’s a primal connection. It happens every four years.