Politicians from all sides have roundly condemned loyalist death threats that forced the captain of the Northern Ireland football team to withdraw from international football.

Neil Lennon, the Roman Catholic captain of the squad who also plays for Celtic, first pulled out of a match on Wednesday evening before subsequently confirming he had decided to stop playing for his national team.

His action came on the day that Northern Ireland Office ministers met with representatives of Sinn Fein in a bid to ease sectarian tensions in Belfast.

Lennon said: "I am very disappointed that my desire to play for my country, and captain my team, has been taken away from me."

Ministers and other political figures from both sides of the Ulster divide also criticised the threats.

"A handful of sectarian bigots have disgraced Northern Ireland in the eyes of the world," commented Northern Ireland security minister Jane Kennedy.

The nationalist SDLP's deputy first minister, Mark Durkan, urged everyone to play their part in defeating sectarianism. "A threat to one is a threat to all," he said.

Jeffrey Donaldson, Ulster Unionist MP for Lagan Valley, said all genuine football supporters would be appalled.

"Anyone who is decent and believes in respect would condemn this death threat," he said.

"The individual who issued this death threat speaks for no one."

The chorus of condemnation prompted a senior member of the organisation that was said to have issued the warning, the LVF, to say the threat was a hoax.

The row came as Northern Ireland minister Des Browne predicted that all sides could "move forward constructively" to end the bitter sectarian clashes taking place in Belfast over recent nights.

After meeting with Sinn Fein representatives on Wednesday, Brown said the government would produce proposals to tackle violence on the so-called "interfaces" between unionist and nationalist communities in Belfast.

"But the success or otherwise of our proposals will require commitment to peace, compromise and leadership," he warned.

Meanwhile, at least nine officers were reported to have been injured during further clashes in the Ulster capital on Wednesday night.