Rade Bogdanovic makes racist on-air remarks during Belgium v Iran | OneFootball

Rade Bogdanovic, the former striker turned Serbian TV pundit, made racist on-air remarks during Belgium v Iran, claiming black players lack the concentration to last more than 60 to 80 minutes.

The comments came after the 66th-minute dismissal of Nathan Ngoy in Sunday’s 0-0 draw. According to L'Équipe, Bogdanovic made the remarks on public broadcaster RTS.

He invoked his playing days as justification, saying he had played with black team-mates and that colleagues sometimes had to prevent errors. The former Yugoslavia international, capped three times with two goals, played for Atlético de Madrid and Werder Bremen.

Challenged by the presenter, who pointed to France’s many black internationals performing at elite level, Bogdanovic refused to withdraw his words. He reiterated that most black players lack concentration, while insisting he was not generalising.

Bogdanovic is known in Serbia for a provocative, direct style, but appears to have crossed a line. Neither RTS nor the Belgian federation has commented publicly.

Source: L'Équipe