thrown into uncertainty over the weekend when he was suspended as national coach of Zambia.

Just over two years ago, the controversial German was fired by Bermuda Football Association when BFA chiefs accused him of going behind their backs before and after the much-publicised Miami Seven affair in which seven players were caught attempting to smuggle drugs through Miami following a Pan-Am Games qualifying tournament in Jamaica.

The 54-year-old coach has courted controversy wherever he has travelled, and yesterday Zambia threw a veil of secrecy over his future, refusing to give an official account of his suspension from the post on Saturday.

The team's head of delegation Mtiaz Ugrader said a decision on Ziese could be taken only by a full executive committee meeting of the Football Association of Zambia when the team returned to Lusaka after the African Nations' Cup tournament in Burkina Faso.

Ziese, who remained behind closed doors in his bungalow in the team's complex, was reportedly suspended after a lengthy meeting with officials, including the Zambian sports minister William Harrington.

He did not take charge of the team's training yesterday morning but Ugrader said the German-born coach was sick.

"We cannot talk about it now,'' he said.

However, players and technical staff said that Ziese was no longer in charge, the reins having been handed over to his assistant George Mungwa and three other coaches, Patrick Phiri, Benjamin Bwalya and Fighton Simukonda.

The move followed Zambia's 4-0 defeat by Egypt on Friday, which effectively knocked the top seeds in group D out of the running for a place in the cup quarter-finals. Zambia have only a slim mathematical chance of going through if they win their final group match against Mozambique in Bobo-Dioulasso tomorrow.

Officials said there had been lengthy meetings between players and the sports minister on Saturday before the decision.

Players said they were unhappy about the strict disciplinary approach of Ziese, who took over the job only last November.

Similar complaints were made by players during the German's stay in Bermuda.

Zambia's key player Kalusha Bwalya had also made no secret of his clash with the coach before the start of the tournament over his late arrival at the team's training camp in Gambia.

Ziese had threatened to drop the former African Footballer of the Year if he did not arrive 14 days before the tournament from his club in Mexico. But that threat was never carried out and Bwalya was included in the team for the opening match against Morocco last week.

But the Zambian idol was stripped of the captaincy for the first match of the tournament, a decision criticised by his team-mates.

BURKHARD ZIESE -- embroiled in more controversy.