The attack on the Dandy Town team bus was not the only incident at Somerset Cricket Club on Sunday during the Premier Division football match, which ended with a brick being thrown through the visiting team’s bus.

Willis Dill, the president of Western Stars Sports Club, under whose auspices Dandy Town fall, said three of the club’s youth-team players who were there as spectators were also accosted inside the ground.

“Three young men from my under-16 team, including one who was with his parents, were accosted by about five boys, and even though the parents intervened, they were still trying to get at these guys,” Mr Dill told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

“Now I’m getting calls from parents saying they don’t want their children to go to Somerset to play football.”

The incident followed a tense scene at the club last season when the Dandy Town players had to make a quick exit from the field and on to a waiting bus outside the gate as youngsters started to act in a threatening manner.

Mr Dill is urging the Bermuda Football Association to put strong measures in place to protect players and supporters at football grounds. “Somebody has to be held responsible,” he said. “The bus driver has to have his back window replaced and he also has a loss of earnings.

“Last year at Somerset, we took a government bus and at the end of the game we jumped on the bus and left — same thing this time.

“As soon as the game ended, the driver was called over and the players got on the bus.

“We were waiting for one player before leaving. This took place inside Somerset’s ground.”

Mr Dill admits incidents such as Sunday’s are not good for football, with Somerset reacting swiftly to ban the offenders from their ground. The attacks did not seem to have anything to do with the game itself.

“Antisocial behaviour is something that has been festering for years,” Mr Dill said. “Unfortunately, sporting grounds are where a lot of this plays out.”

He added: “We as field operators are responsible to take care of the visiting team and ensure the safety of the players and fans. Last year we were asked to host a game at St John’s Field between Boulevard and Somerset, and all the protocol we were asked to put in place to host the match we did.

“That’s not to say when you have the correct protocols in place that things cannot go wrong. Even though we were hosting the game, we had to ensure that the teams were taken care of, and these things were in place.

“According to my players and coaching staff, there were no security people at Somerset and that’s a cause for concern because we’re duty-bound to have them. At St John’s, we pay for security every week ... and while it may cost a bit of money, we have to ensure the safety of the people who are coming to visit our club; even our own supporters, for that matter.”