Teenage football fan 'shot dead in South Africa by neighbour after annoying him by playing a vuvuzela'
Popular: Vuvuzelas have been played throughout the World Cup in South Africa
A teenage football fan has been shot dead after irratating his neighbour by playing a vuvuzela.
Asanda Cele was blasted twice in the head and once in the arm, according to police.
The 14-year-old was found in the man's back garden and rushed to hospital but died of his injuries.
His father, Sandile Cele, claims Asanda was returning to his home near Durban, when he was shot by a local resident who was known to dislike the horns which have become a major factor in this summer’s World Cup.
The boy had been watching the national team Bafana Bafana’s 2-1 defeat of France two weeks ago when he was killed.
Mr Cele said: ‘My son loved soccer and his teams were Manchester United and Bafana Bafana.
'He would always be blowing his vuvuzela, whether his team won or lost.
‘My neighbour recently moved into the neighbourhood, he didn’t like vuvuzelas and the noise they made. I think that’s the reason he killed my son.’
Mr Cele said his wife, Nontobeko, a nurse, collapsed after hearing of her son’s death.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane of KwaZulu Natal police said the suspect was arrested the same day and charged with murder.
He was later released on bail and is expected to re-appear before magistrates next month.
He said: ‘The man thought the victim was a robber and shot at him. He was arrested on the same day and has been charged with murder.’
However Mr Cele disputed the claim. He added: ‘It was not that dark and my son was not covering his face so my neighbour could clearly see who he was firing at.
‘If he thought my son was a criminal he should have fired a warning shot, not shot him three times.’
Two weeks ago a Zimbabwean man in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, lost an eye in a fight with three men over a vuvuzela after they claimed the horn belonged to their friend. I
n the same week South African Yvonne Mayer from Cape Town ruptured her throat in a vuvuzela-blowing competition although doctors said she would not suffer any permanent damage.
The vuvuzelas are a major part of domestic football but have annoyed television fans around the world with their constant loud noise inside stadiums which have been compared to a swarm of bees or rampaging elephants.
Scientists claim they can damage hearing with noise up to 140 decibels prompting some entrepreneurs to sell earplugs at World Cup venues.
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