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Lloyd Burnard

Pietermaritzburg - A website, banvuvuzela.com, has been launched in an attempt to gain support for the banning of the instrument during this year’s FIFA World Cup.

The vuvuzela has come under much criticism from fans, team members and international media since last year’s Confederations Cup took place in South Africa.

Issues have arisen around the instrument’s ability to cause permanent hearing loss as well as an inability for management staff to communicate effectively with their players on the field.

More recently, health risks that come about through the sharing of a vuvuzela have been documented.

The website asks its visitors to vote for either the banning or the keeping of the vuvuzela at the World Cup and states that it intends to take the results to a higher authority in order to try and push for a decision to be made.

By 17:00 on Monday, 74 849 people (89.9%) had called for the instrument to be banned while only 8 362 (10.1%) had given it their blessing.

The site also contains a video that depicts ESPN commentators in the United States slating the use of the vuvuzela after their team’s 3-1 loss to Italy in the Confederations Cup group stages last year.

A description of the vuvuzela is found as an introductory paragraph to the website.

“To some it is a traditionally rousing sound that is part of football matches in South Africa,” it reads.

“To others it is an annoying distraction that has been likened to a deafening mix of angry elephants trumpeting and a foghorn.”

Though the votes on the site suggest that the majority of the footballing world would prefer the immediate removal of the vuvuzela from the World Cup, FIFA and Danny Jordaan’s Local Organising Committee have made a decision on the matter that won’t be changed unless it needs to be.

Jordaan has insisted that the only way that the kudu horn replica will be banned from the tournament is if it is used as a weapon and therefore becomes hazardous to the safety of players and fans.