Violence marred the Premier Division football match between Somerset Trojans and Dandy Town at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday after a player from the visiting team suffered minor injuries during an attack on the team bus.

The unidentified player suffered cuts to his legs when the rear window of the West End Mini Bus Service vehicle was smashed by what has been described as a brick thrown from among a small group of youths in the club’s parking lot.

The driver of the bus, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said he feared for the safety of his passengers. “The majority of the guys were on the bus and I was waiting for one person,” the driver explained. “A guy then comes up and starts banging on the other side [left] of the bus and then one of the passengers shouted ‘go driver, go!’ As I get close to the gate, they threw a rock and broke the back window and then ran to hop on their bikes like they were going to chase me, so I left Somerset doing like 70-80 miles per hour down the road until the police pulled me over by Southampton Rangers because I wasn’t stopping.

“I was afraid for the safety of the players but more vexed than anything else because it was a good game and a good day. The game could have went any way and for this to happen is just ignorance.”

A senior Town team official, who also spoke under condition of anonymity, added: “It was a frightening experience and something that we definitely didn’t expect.

“One player got a few minor cuts on his leg, which didn’t require hospital treatment.”

When asked to identify the injured player, the Town team official declined.

Police and Somerset Cricket Club have come under fire for not doing enough to prevent the incident from occurring.

Police were present at one stage during the match, which Somerset Trojans won 1-0, but, according to the driver and Town team official, left the ground before the game ended, leaving the visiting players on the bus without any protection.

“I was parked on the opposite side of the field and as the game started to end, I looked over and saw the police pulling out and I’m saying like ‘what the **** is going on here?’,” the driver said.

“The police and club have to be held accountable for this. Somerset and the police dropped the ball because there is no way in hell you have a town and country game and you don’t have sufficient security.

“You had a girl and a guy on the gate and the rest of them were sitting down watching the game.

“No one even escorted the referee and the linesmen.”

Echoing the driver’s claims, the Town official added: “The police were there for the whole 90 minutes and then disappeared when we needed them most, which just didn’t make any sense to me. I understand they have a difficult job and we do appreciate the job they do. But for them to leave at that moment was critical and just doesn’t make any sense to me.

“Incidents like this really don’t help the game, it only discourages.

“Here we are trying to encourage more fans to come out and today was a beautiful game. Both teams showed a lot of guts and determination and it was a good game, but the aftermath really puts a bad taste in your mouth.”

The Bermuda Football Association and the Bermuda Police Service were unavailable for comment at time of going to press.