FIFA 2026 | Ex-Atletico striker Bogdanovic issues apology after racist comments during Belgium vs Iran
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "FIFA 2026 | Ex-Atletico striker Bogdanovic issues apology after racist comments during Belgium vs Iran")
Bogdanovic (Left, 9) issues apology after racist comments during Belgium vs Iran Photograph: (AFP)
56-year-old former striker for Atletico Madrid and Weder Bermen questioned the stamina and focus of Black players after Belgium defender Nathan Ngoy was given a red card.
Rade Bogdanovic, a former footballer who played as a striker for Atletico Madrid and Weder Bermen, has landed in hot soup over his racist comments while appearing as an 'expert commentator' on Serbia-based RTS - a television and radi broadcaster. Bogdanovic made the comments during the Iran vs Belgium match, played on Sunday (Jun 21), which ended in a draw. His comments were directed at Belgium defender Nathan Ngoy after the player got the red card.
What did Bogdanovic say about Ngoy?
The 56-year-old questioned the stamina and focus of Black players and said: "I have always said those players - and I'm really not racist - but black players lack the concentration to last more than 60 to 80 minutes. When we played, we sometimes had to protect our own players to stop them making mistakes."
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Bogdanovic (Left, 9) issues apology after racist comments during Belgium vs Iran Photograph: (AFP)
After the comment, Bogdanovic's co-host tried to challenge the commnets made but the 56-year-old doubled down and insisted that his comments are true for 'majority of Black players.'
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The ex-footballer apologized later on for his comments and said in a statement to Reuters: "I sincerely apologise for my statement regarding black football players."
RTS also issued a statement and clarified that Bogdanovic isn't employed by them, saying: "We would like to take this opportunity to apologise, as a broadcaster, for the statement made in our programme concerning members of a particular race."
The match had ended in a goalless draw, which pushed Belgium to third place in Group G behind Egypt and Iran. In two group-stage matches played, Belgium have not won a single one - playing a draw against both - Egypt and Iran. They are at two points currently and would have to win against New Zealand to bolster their Round of 32 place chances.
Where to watch and live stream Belgium's FIFA World Cup 2026 matches?
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Belgium's group-stage and possible knockout matches in FIFA World Cup 2026 will be aired LIVE across WION's sister company Zee5 app and website. (link: https://www.zee5.com/)
