Netherlands vs Mexico: KLM forced to apologise for 'racist' joke tweet following Dutch win

Lighthearted tweet from Dutch airline caused a stir

Dutch airline KLM has apologised for a tweet it sent out from it's official account following the Netherlands victory over Mexico.

Just after the Dutch completed a dramatic late turnaround against Mexico, to win their round of 16 clash 2-1, the airline posted a tweet of an airport departures sign under the heading 'Adios Amigos'.

Next to the word Departures was a picture of a man wearing a sombrero and a moustache.

The picture went viral although was soon deleted after a social media backlash.

Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, reportedly tweeted to his two million followers that he would never fly with the airline again although that post appears to have been deleted with the actor now apologising for a sense of humour failure caused by the football.

I must say this: apologies to anyone who felt offended by my comments. I was caught by the football bug that spoiled my sense of humor.

— Gael Garcia Bernal (@GaelGarciaB) June 29, 2014

"It was meant to be a joke but there was too much negative reaction," said KLM spokeswoman Lisette Ebeling Koning.

She added that the airline had not meant to offend Mexicans and KLM went on to issue an official apology on Sunday.

"In the best of sportsmanship, we offer our heartfelt apologies to those who have been offended by the comment," said Marnix Fruitema, director general of KLM in North America.

Although the fairly light-hearted joke appeared to be lost on many people, given the amount of publicity it has generated for the airline, they may not view the whole exercise as a complete failiure.