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Johannesburg - Vuvuzelas will be banned from all WC 2010 matches if rowdy supporters throw these soccer trumpets onto the pitch, or use them as a weapon, the soccer bosses said on Thursday.
Bafana Bafana's match against Colombia - with 75 000 spectators - in Soccer City on Thursday is also an opportunity to test whether the vuvuzelas' deafening noise disrupts the match too much.
The opening match will be played precisely two weeks from Friday. Brazil, who landed on Thursday, were the second WC team to arrive in the country.
"Should any vuvuzela be thrown onto the pitch in anger, that will be the end of the vuvuzela," Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the local organising committee, told journalists in Sandton on Thursday.
If a vuvuzela was to be used as a weapon, it will "be banned from the next game".
During the Confederations Cup in June last year, foreign players as well as journalists complained that the vuvuzelas are so noisy it made their heads spin.
Jérôme Valcke, secretary general of FIFA, said on Thursday that FIFA expects it to be much less noisy in the stadiums than it was during recent matches.
According to Jordaan, a constant drone is unacceptable, especially while "presidents or kings" are speaking. Furthermore, spectators must be able to hear announcements for safety reasons.
"We can't have a constant noise when we're in the middle of a national anthem. We can't disrespect national anthems. When the president speaks, everybody needs to hear," Jordaan said.
That's why Thursday night will serve as a dress rehearsal for the opening match.
"We'll see on Thursday night (what the noise levels are like). This is the first time that Soccer City will be full, and we have to see if the noise has an impact on the efficiency of the activities," Jordaan said.
Authorities also ran out of patience with journalists pestering the WC teams on Thursday.
The police detained a Sunday Times photographer, Simon Mathebula, at the OR Tambo airport. He was questioned and ordered to delete all the photos - those he took when he tried to get a little too close to the Brazilians.
Darryl Hammond, picture editor at the paper, said Mathebula wasn't supposed to be in that area. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding."
Once he had arrived in South Africa, famous Brazilian midfielder Kaka said on Twitter that he's very excited to be here.
"Just arrived in South Africa. Incredible atmosphere!"
Bafana Bafana's match against Colombia - with 75 000 spectators - in Soccer City on Thursday is also an opportunity to test whether the vuvuzelas' deafening noise disrupts the match too much.
The opening match will be played precisely two weeks from Friday. Brazil, who landed on Thursday, were the second WC team to arrive in the country.
"Should any vuvuzela be thrown onto the pitch in anger, that will be the end of the vuvuzela," Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the local organising committee, told journalists in Sandton on Thursday.
If a vuvuzela was to be used as a weapon, it will "be banned from the next game".
During the Confederations Cup in June last year, foreign players as well as journalists complained that the vuvuzelas are so noisy it made their heads spin.
Jérôme Valcke, secretary general of FIFA, said on Thursday that FIFA expects it to be much less noisy in the stadiums than it was during recent matches.
According to Jordaan, a constant drone is unacceptable, especially while "presidents or kings" are speaking. Furthermore, spectators must be able to hear announcements for safety reasons.
"We can't have a constant noise when we're in the middle of a national anthem. We can't disrespect national anthems. When the president speaks, everybody needs to hear," Jordaan said.
That's why Thursday night will serve as a dress rehearsal for the opening match.
"We'll see on Thursday night (what the noise levels are like). This is the first time that Soccer City will be full, and we have to see if the noise has an impact on the efficiency of the activities," Jordaan said.
Authorities also ran out of patience with journalists pestering the WC teams on Thursday.
The police detained a Sunday Times photographer, Simon Mathebula, at the OR Tambo airport. He was questioned and ordered to delete all the photos - those he took when he tried to get a little too close to the Brazilians.
Darryl Hammond, picture editor at the paper, said Mathebula wasn't supposed to be in that area. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding."
Once he had arrived in South Africa, famous Brazilian midfielder Kaka said on Twitter that he's very excited to be here.
"Just arrived in South Africa. Incredible atmosphere!"
