The spokesman of the Dutch World Cup team said on Thursday that the squad has been banned from using social messaging service Twitter after striker Eljero Elia made a racist slur against one of his own friends.

The SV Hamburg winger made a racist insult against one of his friends during an Internet chat and an online game, which was filmed by the player's webcam and posted on the Internet. It has created a stir in the Netherlands.

The 23-year-old Elia apologized for the incident and protested that it was meant to be a light-hearted conversation between friends. "I feel really stupid," he admitted.

But team bosses moved swiftly to impose a ban on the use of Twitter at their Johannesburg base.

"We have under-estimated the impact of the new forms of communication. We wanted to give the players freedom, hoping they would act in a responsible manner," said spokesman Kees Jansma. "It's a real pity, but we will no longer allow them to communicate using new media."

The Netherlands start their Group E campaign against Denmark on Sunday.