Joost Klein, who was representing the Netherlands at the European Song Contest, has been disqualified from taking part in the final.

Klein is said to have made threats against a female member of the television team.

“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the contest,” the European Broadcasting Union said in a statement.

“In light of this, Joost Klein’s behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of contest rules.”

AvroTros, which organises the Dutch end of the event, said it considered the decision to be out of all proportion and is extremely shocked. “We will come back to this later,” the Dutch public broadcaster said in a social media post.

Earlier it emerged Klein had been questioned by Swedish police about threats he allegedly made against a female member of the television crew. The incident is said to have taken place on Thursday evening and the complaint was made on Friday, the AD said.

The police told reporters that both Klein and the woman who made the complaint have been questioned and the case is now with the public prosecution department, which will decide what should happen next.

That, according to the AD, could take several weeks.

Saturday’s final will now take place with 25 rather than 26 performances.