NEW YORK--Anti-apartheid protesters opposed to a U.S. tour by a South African rugby team clashed with police at an airport here Saturday night, leaving one officer blinded and an airline employee with a severe gash, officials said.

Four women and one man were arrested after the incident, which began when demonstrators arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport, wrongly believing that the Springboks were preparing to depart for South Africa.

The team did not leave its Albany hotel until Sunday. Spokesmen for the team and for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates New York area airports, refused to say when the players would leave; but Port Authority police said they were told the team would be leaving from New York.

The team's world tour has sparked dozens of protests by those angered at South Africa's policy of racial separation.

Demonstrators at Kennedy tossed jars of Mace and vinegar at a South African jetliner.

One officer was struck in the face with a solution believed to be Mace, a form of tear gas, and vinegar. Although he had not regained his sight Sunday, doctors said the blindness was not expected to be permanent. Other police officers sustained scratches and minor injuries in scuffles with protesters, and one airline employee received 23 stitches in the leg when struck with a broken bottle.

The team, considered the best in the world, won its matches in Racine, Wis., Albany, and Schenectady against American amateur players. The South Africans scored a total of 125 points, compared to 19 for the Americans.

Opponents of South African's racial separation policy demonstrated at two of the three games they played in the United States, but no serious incidents were reported.

During the team's two-week visit, however, bombs exploded in buildings housing the offices of the Eastern Rugby Union in Schenectady and the offices of a rugby club in Evansville, Ind. No injuries were reported in either blast, but damage was extensive.