©picture alliance / Anadolu | Tayfun Coskun
Rade Bogdanovic is under fire after making racist remarks during a live broadcast on the Serbian public broadcaster RTS. The former striker and analyst said during the Belgium-Iran match that, in his opinion, “Black players” lack the concentration to last an entire game.
The comment came after Belgian defender Nathan Ngoy was shown a red card in the 66th minute. Bogdanovic used that moment to claim that Black players could not remain focused “for more than 60 to 80 minutes,” a statement that was widely condemned as racist. “I’ve also played alongside people of color. Sometimes I had to protect my own teammates from making mistakes. For the majority, there’s simply a lack of concentration,” he continued. The host confronted Bogdanovic about that remark, but the analyst stood his ground.
The Serbian soccer analyst’s racist remark sparked outrage on social media and criticism in both domestic and international media. RTS later emphasized that Bogdanovic is not an employee of the broadcaster but serves as an external analyst. “We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the remark made on our program about people of a specific race.”
Meanwhile, Bogdanovic has apologized. In a statement to Reuters, he said he regretted his comments about Black soccer players. “I sincerely apologize for my remarks about Black football players.”
Rade Bogdanovic, 56, is a former professional soccer player and Yugoslavia international; he is currently a football analyst.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Tayfun Coskun