Uefa announces vuvuzela ban

Instruments banned from all European competition

By James Riach   Last updated: 1st September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Uefa announces vuvuzela ban

Vuvuzelas on show in South Africa

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Uefa has decided to ban vuvuzelas from all European competition following their use at the World Cup.

The plastic horns were a hallmark of this summer's tournament in South Africa, where fans produced a monotonous droning throughout entire matches, a noise which was described as akin to a hornet's nest.

A number of clubs across Europe have since banned the instruments from their grounds and Uefa has now ruled out their use in Champions League, Europa League and European Championship games, including qualifiers.

A Uefa statement read: "The World Cup was characterised by the vuvuzela's widespread and permanent use in the stands.

"In the specific context of South Africa, the vuvuzela adds a touch of local flavour and folklore, but Uefa feels that the instrument's widespread use would not be appropriate in Europe, where a continuous loud background noise would be emphasised.

"Uefa is of the view that the vuvuzelas would completely change the atmosphere, drowning supporter emotions and detracting from the experience of the game.

"To avoid the risk of these negative effects in the stadiums where Uefa competitions are played and to protect the culture and tradition of football in Europe ... Uefa has decided with immediate effect that vuvuzelas will not be allowed in the stadiums where Uefa competitions matches are played."

The use of vuvuzelas was met with contrasting opinions this summer, as while some fans thought they brought character to the World Cup, others were extremely critical and claimed they ruined the atmosphere inside the grounds.

Indeed, a number of players complained that they could not hear their team-mates on the pitch or even the referee's whistle, and there were calls to ban the instrument before the competition began.

Comments (7)

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Ted Peters (West Ham United fan) says...

the vuvuzelas had their time in the sun.....it was called the world cup ;)

Posted 16:23 1st September 2010

Vinnitoni Sen (Manchester City fan) says...

a bit of a shame it was ruined by the tv companies as the grounds had microphones in and it picked it up more i went to 2 games and the atmosphere with them was great men women kids old and young all joined in was fantastic, and i took 2 of them home

Posted 13:24 1st September 2010

Jon Murray says...

I think it''s a real waste n shame banning them. were they annoying yes, but it was a fun novelty thing. All premier league clubs banned them almost straight away, bu they would only have been used the odd time by children, making the match fun for them. 50 years ago would we have banned rattles? no.....do we ban flags because it gives people restricted views? no.....they have all had their time in football, and I think the vuvuzelas deserved their day in the sun too!

Posted 12:59 1st September 2010

Ashley Eddon says...

well most english teams have banned them anyway, and im glad now i can watch the match in piece and here the sheffield wednesday band play their songs against bulgeria on friday

Posted 12:57 1st September 2010

Lesley Mackintosh says...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! HOORAH !

Posted 12:08 1st September 2010

Simon Wheeldon says...

Thank god

Posted 11:45 1st September 2010

Dean Craze says...

Good, great at the world cup because it was good for their culture, but our culture is very different and we do not want them!

Posted 11:40 1st September 2010
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