Football will never be defeated by violence, Bermuda's soccer chief vowed last night.

Speaking in the aftermath of the Wellington Oval verdicts, Larry Mussenden said the "good of the game" would always triumph over the scourge of anti-social behaviour.

But he also revealed how the repercussions of the trouble at St. George's last April had scared off potential sponsors interested in pumping money into the game.

The president of the Bermuda Football Association, who is also Attorney General, refused to comment specifically on the retrial jury's decision to convict three men of attempted murder.

He said: "The jury has considered the evidence presented before them and come back with the verdict.

"It's for the community to respect the attention and the work that the jury will have done, and their verdict."

Mr. Mussenden was at Wellington Oval when trouble broke out last year and admitted it was a "terrifying ordeal".

He added: "The Bermuda Football Association had some sponsors back away from us at the time of Wellington Oval. That had a huge negative impact and a direct financial impact on football in Bermuda."

Mr. Mussenden said that whenever a small minority of troublemakers broke the law at a sports ground it created a bad image. That leads to some fans staying away, he added, causing clubs to lose much-needed money at the turnstiles.

But the association president, who has recently announced a raft of measures to curb gang violence and drugs at football matches after problems at Southampton Rangers, remained confident about the future.

"Football will never stop," he said. "It will outlast violence and will outlast drugs. Football will triumph over bad and negative behaviour."