They wouldn’t dare ban the vuvuzela – would they?

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has condemned the call to ban vuvuzelas at World Cup stadiums. In fact, he called it “nonsense” – football fans must realise that they are in South Africa and that’s the way the country watches matches.

But people are complaining they cannot hear each other during games.

I don’t particularly care for the vuvuzela – I can’t even blow the thing properly. But this is an African world cup – the first ever in the history of the tournament  – so why not go along with the flow?

There are coping mechanisms for people at the stadium and the public viewing areas, or fan parks: bring a pair of ear plugs. That’s what I would do.

Besides, imagine the backlash from angry South Africans if their vuvuzela was banned from the stadiums? That is a risk Fifa may not want to take.

But obviously enough people are irritated by the plastic object – and are making contingency plans.

A French cable TV channel is offering vuvuzela-free broadcasts for all matches at the World Cup. Using frequency-separating technology, they have managed to block out the vuvuzela’s buzzing drone while letting other sounds come through.

But all the hype may be much ado about nothing.

I predict once South Africa is out of the tournament – we will know this coming Tuesday when they play France – South Africans won’t feel like blowing their vuvuzelas much anyway.