South African football fans love their vuvuzelas

Premier League clubs have no plans to follow Germany's Borussia Dortmund and ban vuvuzelas next season.

The Bundesliga team became the first major European club to ban the plastic horns, which were unheard of outside of South Africa before the World Cup.

The noise of the vuvuzelas has divided opinion in Britain.

Tens of thousands of the horns have been sold by shops and supermarkets but many people loathe them, claiming they drown out singing and chanting.

One non-league team has gone so far as banning them from the clubhouse, where they are screening World Cup games.

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Chris Layton, secretary of Ryman League part-timers Whyteleafe, said: "Anyone bringing a vuvuzela to the clubhouse during the World Cup will be asked to leave it outside before being admitted to the clubhouse to watch the matches on the big screen."

A Premier League spokesman said on Wednesday it was up to individual clubs to decide their policy.

But on the day next season's fixtures were unveiled no Premier League club has announced a ban and some are thought to be looking into the horns for their merchandising potential.

An Arsenal spokesman said: "There is no ban on the use of vuvuzelas within Emirates Stadium at present, as they do not contravene our ground regulations.

"However, the enjoyment and safety of fans on a match day is of paramount importance to us, and we reserve the right to take action against any device which negatively impacts the experience of others within Emirates Stadium."

A Tottenham spokesman said: "There is currently no policy relating to the use of vuvuzelas within stadia in the UK as this has not been considered an issue to date."

Borussia Dortmund supporters are among the most vocal in Germany and the Westfalenstadion has a capacity of 81,000.

General manager Hans-Joachim Watzke was unequivocal: "Our fans don't want to have these trumpets. It is nerve-racking and completely drowns out any chanting."

He added: "We have decided as a work group at Borussia Dortmund that these horrid things will be forbidden from the Westfalenstadion."

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