The Bermuda Football Association's controversial Technical Director of Coaching was informed on Monday morning that his contract was being terminated.

Mr. Ziese, 50, had just returned to the Island on Saturday following a Christmas vacation in his native Germany. There were still two years remaining on his three-year pact, which paid him $50,000 a year.

When contacted yesterday, BFA secretary general Mr. David Sabir refused to comment on Mr. Ziese's dismissal, saying the affair was being looked upon as "an internal matter''.

Mr. Sabir would not confirm that Mr. Ziese had been let go, nor was the BFA planning to issue a statement.

Also choosing to remain silent was the normally outspoken Mr. Ziese.

"I have nothing to say in this regard,'' he told The Royal Gazette .

Mr. Ziese was summoned to BFA headquarters on Monday morning when he was presented with a letter, officially ending his short stint in Bermuda.

He has sought the services of well-known lawyer Mr. Alan Dunch, who said Mr.

Ziese's firing represented a breach of contract and that damages will be sought.

"The letter suggested that he has somehow breached his duty of faith to the BFA by virtue of unspecified things he has alleged to have said and or done,'' said Mr. Dunch.

"The letter is noticably devoid of any particulars whatsoever...and gives no indication at all as to the basis upon which the BFA has reached the conclusion that it did.'' Mr. Ziese's dismissal ends a tempestuous era which began in November, 1993.

His gruff manner didn't always sit well with members of the soccer fraternity, although many privately held him in high regard.

Mr. Ziese's future was considered tenuous ever since the Under-23s ill-fated tour to Jamaica. In two memos he informed BFA officials that players were smoking marijuana in Jamaica.

The memos were later made public by CONCACAF president Mr. Jack Warner.

Then, in a letter he wrote to Warner on December 15, Mr. Ziese wrote: "You will understand that I will have great mental problems to continue with such an incompetent association.'' But Mr. Ziese later had a change of heart saying his first year on the job was satisfying and he expected to fulfill the final two years of his mandate.

"I just think if it is true it's really sad,'' said former BFA president Mr.

Charles Marshall yesterday. "Getting rid of the messenger doesn't mean it's going to solve the issues in association football.

"He brought to the forefront a lot of the issues that many of us involved in football were aware of, but were not prepared to address.'' A self-described disciplinarian, Mr. Ziese -- a graduate of the University of Sports in Cologne with a diploma in football and general physical education -- was brought to Bermuda following a successful coaching stint in Ghana.

"Burkhard's method of doing things may not have been always the way things are done in Bermuda, which may have been part of the problem,'' said Mr. Jon Beard, head of the BFA's Youth Committee.