heavy fire yesterday over comments made in Friday's Royal Gazette , with one of the Island's top coaches calling for his removal.

It was also learned yesterday that Government's Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation had asked the BFA to investigate Ziese's comments, specifically those comparing the local coaching fraternity to "an African market place''.

North Village coach Robert Calderon took particular exception to Ziese's constant bad mouthing of local coaches, saying that the governing body should remove him from the post he has occupied for a little more than a year.

"The BFA have made a bad hire, it happens,'' said Calderon, miffed by Ziese's "arrogance''.

"Ziese's statement that compares 95 percent of local coaches to what takes place in an African market place is vintage Ziese. Proof positive that he is a cultural misfit,'' said Calderon.

"The BFA, instead of supporting Ziese in his destructive behaviour, need to investigate why coaches stay away from his programme...even the simplest animals learn to avoid someone that is abusive.

"Ziese's statement that he is getting tired is laughable, considering many of us have long experienced fatigue, flat out exhaustion, as a result of his dictatorial management style and disparaging comments.'' Calderon took exception to the technical director's assertion that most coaches felt that they "knew it all already'', noting that he and others originally made efforts to attend coaching courses, because they saw the need to improve their skills and recognised that foreign expertise was required in that area.

However, he said many were unable to get past the gruff, "all powerful'' attitude displayed by Ziese.

The German coach, he said, was missing the point if he was of the opinion that local coaches considered themselves "know-it-alls'', and it was he who desperately needed to improve his "people skills''.

"Ziese misunderstands the reasons why he has failed to gain respect and support from many coaches,'' said Calderon. "He is of the opinion that it is because the coaching fraternity feels that they have a stronger understanding of the game than he does.

"This is not the issue. Many coaches have made the effort to attend coaching courses in the past.

"However, I refuse to allow this arrogant individual to, on the one hand, call 95 percent of coaches idiots (me included) and then sit in front of him with eyes open, mouth agape and ears bent to listen to what he has to say, regardless of the quality of his message.

"Football is his life, it is not mine, and consequently it has its place in the order of things that are deemed important.'' Calderon also alluded to the Dwayne (Streaker) Adams suspension at the end of the 1993-94 season that involved Ziese, as well as his boasting that the Under-23 team would beat any First Division side in Bermuda, which Calderon said only caused alienation from the national programme.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Pamela Gordon, whose Government provides the BFA with a yearly grant, a portion of which goes toward Ziese's salary was unwilling to comment on what some have perceived as racist statements made by the technical director. But she intimated that an investigation into these comments would take place.

"I really don't know in what context they were said,'' said Gordon. "All I've seen are the clippings of what was written in the newspaper. And often what is written in the paper is not what was necessarily intended by the comments.

"We will have the ministry investigate and look into how the comments were intended or not intended and the context in which they were used.

"For now I would prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Ziese and allow the BFA to carry out an investigation and get back to the ministry with their findings.'' Ziese, in Jamaica with the Under-23 squad, was unavailable for comment yesterday.