A Dutch priest was suspended after getting caught up in the Dutch "orange craze" and hosting a football-themed mass on the day of the Netherlands' World Cup final against Spain, his diocese said.

Pastor Paul Vlaar, of the western town of Obdam, said mass in an orange chasuble (a sleeveless robe) - "doing insufficient justice to the sanctity" of the sacrament, the diocese of Haarlem said in a statement.

Television footage had shown Vlaar's flock decked out in the orange colour of the national team, some with Dutch flags painted on their faces, while the church interior had been decorated with football paraphernalia - described by an indignant diocese as "profane".

He had also prayed for the team, which lost 0-1.

"The bishop... has suspended pastor Vlaar with immediate effect for a period of reflection," said the statement.

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