UEFA bans Vuvuzelas Europe-wide

The European football governing body UEFA has decided to ban the Vuvuzela from all matches organised by them. This means no Vuvuzela's will be allowed at venues for the 2012 European Championship qualifiers, the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. And fans turning-up with a Vuvuzela will have to hand the plastic trumpet in before entering the venue.

And the reason behind this move? UEFA is banning the Vuvuzela to protect as they call it "Europe's football culture". And rightly so! European football atmosphere is about chanting, singing, emotions on the stands which reach the players and it is a two way interaction. At the World Cup initially the Vuvuzela's were so loud that watching matches even on the television was a pain for the ears, while players said that they couldn't communicate with each other on the pitch.

UEFA said about the move, "UEFA has informed its 53 member associations that it has taken the move for reasons related to Europe's football culture and tradition, saying that the atmosphere at matches would be changed by the sound of the Vuvuzela.

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."

It is surely a step in the right direction. Some clubs like Borussia Dortmund have already banned Vuvuzela's from their stadiums, the 2012 London Olympics will not allow Vuvuzela's to enter any venues, while organisers of sports events and music festivals from the planet have done the same. The Vuvuzela hopefully will remain only in our minds as one of the bad nuances of an otherwise great atmospheric 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Here an older post from me during the 2010 FIFA World Cup about Vuvuzela - a curse?