Local footballers will no longer be permitted to wear jewellery of any kind on the field of play, warned Bermuda Football Association second vice-president Gregory Grimes yesterday.

Grimes, recently back from a FIFA assistant referee instructors? course in Nassau, Bahamas, made it clear that players would not be allowed to cover earrings with tape ? a measure which has become all too common amongst today?s crop of players.

?FIFA are not even allowing players to tape up their jewellery (earrings) anymore,? said Grimes. ?It now has to come off and a BFA directive has been sent out to clubs. And it is our (BFA) intention to enforce this law.

?There are still a lot of players wearing jewellery on the field and this is something FIFA are really trying to now stamp out.?

Broadening his own match-officiating horizons during the week-long course in the Caribbean, Grimes used the opportunity to ?network? with other officials in the CONCACAF region, something he believes will bode well for Bermuda in the long term.

?The course was very worthwhile because we now have more sources that we can correspond with about any particular problems we might encounter,? he said.

?I can now call someone within the region which gives Bermuda another source to network with. FIFA is all about team-work. And team-work means everybody, so now we can interact more freely with others to ensure we receive the correct information and vice-versa.?