Dutch football legend Marco van Basten has been suspended for a week by the Dutch sports network Fox Sports for a "Nazi joke."

"In a bad joke at a bad time, Van Basten made a mistake last Saturday," the network said in a statement.

"What happened is stupid and inappropriate, and Fox Sports is distancing itself from what has been said," she said, adding that she "decided to do without Marco van Basten as an analyst for this week."

Van Basten, 55, apologized for saying Saturday, "Sieg Heil," a Nazi salute to glory of victory, after a German-language Sky Sports interview with Heracles Almelo coach.

Fox Sports confirmed that Van Basten's salary during a week in his weekly Dutch league analysis program will be donated to the Dutch Institute for Documentation of War to "enhance knowledge of World War II history."

Van Basten, a three-time Golden Ball winner, is expected to return to duty on December 7.

In the details of what happened, and after the reporter of the network "Fox Sports" Hunts Kra last Saturday live interview with German Frank Formoth coach Heracles Almelo, after the latter's loss to Ajax Amsterdam 1-4 in the 14th round of the league, Van Basten said His picture did not show "not bad .. Sieg Heil", commenting on the reporter's ability to speak German.

Van Basten tried to justify his action after being heavily criticized on Twitter by saying, "I had no intention of shocking people. I just wanted to explain German to Hunts," while the network apologized.

Van Basten's "joke" is in contravention of the campaign launched by Dutch clubs recently in a series of measures to combat racism, a week after racist chants during a match between two clubs of the second division.