A year after referees forced Bermuda Football Association and clubs to implement stringent security measures for officials at all soccer grounds, there are signs that those initiatives - which initially worked so well - are beginning to fail.

Lapses in security have been noticed at some games after just two weeks of league play and officials are privately voicing their concerns.

Top ranking officers of Bermuda Referees Association were reluctant to make any public comment about the situation for fear that it may detract from the many other positive steps undertaken by the new BFA administration to stamp out drug problems at matches. But many have expressed their concerns privately, noting that "it's beginning to look like the same old thing".

When the BRA took the bold step last season of demanding support from the BFA and clubs by withdrawing their services until satisfied that safety measures for their members were put into place, a significant improvement was recognised. Security personnel, clearly identifiable, appeared at all grounds and even accompanied officials on and off the field of play.

Chairman of the BFA's Referees Committee, Gregory Grimes, was aware that there had been some slackening off by the clubs in that area but said he didn't believe it was significant enough to warrant immediate action.

"Yes, I have heard that security has been non-existent at one or two games, but these are just isolated cases," he said. "And I don't recall any referee including anything about lack of security in their reports, so it's not a problem so far.

"The BFA has written to the clubs and reminded them of their responsibilities regarding security and naturally the association and all of the sporting public would hope that the procedures that were put into place would continue to be upheld because it made everybody, the officials and the fans, more secure at various grounds."

However, one referee, who didn't wish to be named, said there was a growing concern among members and he believed the matter should be given further attention before it was allowed to get out of hand.

"The clubs moved swiftly to get the matter corrected last season and it worked rather well. Now as a new season has just got underway there is a sign of some slackening off and that's not good," he said.