Bermuda Hogges' loan move for New England Revolution goalkeeper Zack Simmons broke down at the eleventh hour when it emerged the transfer would not be granted international clearance.

Simmons had been preparing to board a plane from Boston to North Carolina last week when Hogges discovered from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) that the 'keeper would not be permitted to play against Wilmington Hammerheads and Charlotte Eagles.

A FIFA-ruling prevents professional clubs from signing players from outside their jurisdiction until after July 15 when the international transfer window re-opens, blocking Simmons from joining Hogges on a two-game loan.

Club secretary Paul Scope said that should Hogges wish to shop overseas for players in the future then it's likely any deals would have to be sanctioned before the start of the season, or prior to the USL's own transfer window closing towards the end of the campaign.

"New England Revolution, the MLS and the USL had all given the transfer their approval but due to international clearance we were unable to sign Zack Simmons on loan," Scope said.

"It's all to do with a ruling which prevents players signing for another club in a different jurisdiction until after July 15. I believe that's why David Beckham can't rejoin LA Galaxy from AC Milan until after the same deadline.

"Although Hogges play in a American league we are a Bermudian team and part of the Caribbean region and that caused the complication.

"The problem for us is that we play in a summer league and a good proportion of our matches are played before July 15. The USL also have their own transfer window towards the end of season to prevent teams from signing players just for the play-offs, so we're limited to what we can do."

Simmons was due to join Hogges last weekend as emergency 'keeper cover with Nigel Burgess still not fully fit following a motorcycle accident and Timmy Figureido out for the season with cruciate knee damage.

New England Revolution's 'keeper coach Gwynne Williams, a long-time friend of Scope, had offered Hogges Simmons' services after reading about their 'keeper crisis on The Royal Gazette's website. "It was a disappointment as there had been some goodwill from New England Revolution and a lot of hard work had gone into making the loan transfer happen but it broke down at the last minute," said Scope.

"The player was ready to board the plane and join us but we then discovered from the USSF that the deal couldn't be completed. We all thought it would go through fine as Simmons is an American and would have been joining a team from an American league to play in America, but unfortunately that wasn't the case."

Hogges play Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the US tomorrow.