A taxi carrying Boulevard football players away from the Southampton Rangers ground was attacked by a mob wielding rocks, bottles, a hammer and a shovel.

No-one was hurt amid the mayhem on Saturday afternoon but two Rangers players involved in the mêlée have been banned from the club as a result.

Rangers president Randy Raynor told The Royal Gazette he's "very disgusted" over the incident and concerned that the Police refused to provide security at the match.

The trouble began just after 3 p.m. as the Boulevard team left the game which involved under-23's from the Professional Development League, and ended in a one-all draw.

Mr. Raynor said the visiting team members were getting into vehicles outside the gate when the "riotous behaviour" began. Around 20 people were involved in the attack, with much of it focused on a taxi cab carrying around six members of the Boulevard team.

"Bottles and rocks started flying. I was told a shovel was involved and I saw a big hammer that was being used," he said. "The grey taxi got some serious damage by a shovel and someone carrying a hammer. It was mayhem on this one taxi. When the Police arrived the taxi had taken off."

He added: "Some people were afraid, some people were dismayed. Some people knew this was going to happen. It's town and country."

Violence has flared at several venues in recent years as the result of an ongoing feud between rival gangs from the town and country areas.

The Boulevard vs Rangers clash involved players and fans travelling from the "town" area to visit the Southampton team in the "country."

When the teams met in the same venue in February, youths pelted the Boulevard bus with bottles and other projectiles as it left the ground.

The Police later stated that the Bermuda Football Association had not flagged the game as "high risk," which is why there was no Police presence.

Once again, there were no officers on duty during Saturday's game, which attracted a crowd of 100 — 150 people including children.

The gates were not manned and there were three security staff present.

Mr. Raynor said he'd contacted the Police earlier on Saturday because he'd anticipated trouble, but they were too busy to do anything more than offer to send a patrol past.

"I just wish we could have had a little more help," he said last night.

The match referee identified two of those involved in the attack as members of the Rangers side, and they have been "permanently banned" from the club, according to Mr. Raynor. Another was identified as a spectator and three or four more were youths from the Southampton area who were already banned from the club.

Mr. Raynor said he and his staff are working to identify and ban the other troublemakers, although they are hampered by the fact that several of their security cameras are broken.

"I'm going to extend my apologies to (Boulevard president) Mr. Proctor and his players. This is something that's beyond Bermuda's control. This was not about football," he stressed.

Referee Lee DeRosa-Holder was getting ready to oversee the next game between the Devonshire Colts All-Stars and Southampton Rangers when the trouble kicked off outside.

"I saw the yellow shirts of the Boulevard players running down the road and I could hear the bottles crashing," he explained. "It's unfortunate. It's not about football. These youngsters are just out of control. They just use the agency of football to gather."

The owner of the damaged taxi told The Royal Gazette her 22-year-old son was driving it along South Road to pick up some visitors from the airport when the traffic halted amid a "volatile atmosphere."

Then the players jumped into the back uninvited.

"They took the liberty, a group of them, to jump in the car and once they did someone with a shovel, I guess one of the other team, just bashed the window. It's unfortunate it's brand new car."

The lady, who lives in Southampton and asked that her name is not published, does not know how much it will cost to repair the smashed rear window but she's relieved that no-one was hurt.

"It's not a good feeling for this to happen to my son or anyone else. It's putting Bermuda at risk. It's a sorry day for Bermuda and a sorry era for Bermuda," she commented.

David Sabir, General Secretary of the BFA, issued a statement saying the "violent disturbance was "totally unrelated to the match which was played in great spirit". He added: "There was no report of any personal injuries but vehicles connected with the Boulevard team received extensive damage. We can report that players from Southampton Rangers were identified and arrested. Police are continuing with their investigation into others so involved."

However, that investigation has been hampered by silence on the part of witnesses according to Police spokesman Dwayne Caines.

He said: "Police responded to a report of an incident. On their arrival it was clear that an incident had taken place but the culprits had made good their escape and the persons present were not willing to help Police identify who the victims and / or culprits were. Police stayed in the area and one person was arrested as a result of an outstanding warrant."

Quizzed over the lack of a Police presence before the trouble began, he replied: "This match was not flagged up far enough in advance for the appropriate resources to be put in place. Clearly there is work to be done and the Bermuda Police Service is committed to working with our community partners to ensure safety for our community."

Boulevard president Stephen Proctor declined to comment.