He may be 'persona non grata' as far as the national team are concerned, but that hasn't stopped the Bermuda Football Association from lauding the achievements of Kris Frick.

Happily ignoring the fact that they slapped a five-year international ban on the youngster for refusing to play during the Digicel Caribbean Cup in Cayman in 2008, the BFA have now claimed the C.W. Post University student as one of their own, after he was named soccer scholar athlete of the year by the East Coast Conference.

Announcing the news under a picture of Frick – whose first name is spelt incorrectly – in a Bermuda shirt on the front page of their website yesterday, the BFA go on to loudly hail this 'outstanding story' before directing readers to an external link for full details.

Frick, who has a GPA of 3.93, won the award after captaining his Pioneers side to the ECC Championship Title and an overall record of 12-5-1.

The former Somerset Trojans player incured the wrath of the BFA during the trip to Cayman Islands when he refused to play after being named as a subsitute for the game against St Martin.

Frick subsequently left the Caribbean island altogether which brought widespread condemnation from within the governing body.

Then president Larry Mussenden described it as "one of the most serious actions a player can do when representing Bermuda".

As well as the five-year international ban, the BFA also handed down a two-year domestic ban to the utility player, which will expire in September.