Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva has explained why police declined a request from Dandy Town officials to provide an escort for the players on the way to Somerset for the Premier Division football match on Sunday, when young players were threatened and the team bus was attacked.

Western Stars Sports Club president Willis Dill told The Royal Gazette on Tuesday that, anticipating trouble at the game, a request was made for police to escort the team from “a particular point and then back to that particular point”.

However, Mr DeSilva said the onus was on the clubs to provide the necessary security for players travelling to and from the ground.

“[Our duty] ... does not extend to providing police bodyguards to sports teams or individual members of the public, especially when the risks are known ahead of time and there are several solutions available to reduce or eliminate the risk.

“Perhaps, if it is too dangerous for a sports team to travel on a bus in public, then it might be time for sports clubs to take a hard look at whether individual players they allow on their teams are the ones creating the risk for everyone else.”

He added: “The BPS continues to work collaboratively with the Bermuda Football Association and sports clubs in support of improving security measures, and our goal is to help make sports clubs safe places for the public to attend. We are engaged in a meeting tonight [Tuesday] to advance this specific objective.”

Mr Dill said the club’s vice-president “spoke extensively to the police about this particular situation and we asked them for an escort [to Somerset] from a particular point and then back to that particular point, but they said they didn’t do that”.

He added: “They assured us that police will be at the game before, during and after the match, and that did not happen.

“I was told by a policeman that the reason why the police left was because of a shift change.”

Mr Dill said three of the club’s under-16 players, who were watching the game, were accosted by about five boys, despite the presence of one of the players’ parents. Dandy Town play under the auspices of Western Stars Sports Club.