World Cup pundit sparks racism row after ‘black players lack concentration’ comment

Former Yugoslavia and Atletico Madrid striker Rade Bogdanovic sparked controversy on Serbian TV after saying that “black players lack concentration beyond 60 to 80 minutes” during the Belgium-Iran World Cup match.

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Bogdanovic, 56, made the comment on a World Cup programme aired by Serbia’s public broadcaster (RTS) late on Sunday night while discussing the 66th-minute red card shown to Belgian defender Nathan Ngoy.

“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,” Bogdanovic said.

“When we played, we sometimes had to protect our own players to stop them making mistakes,” he added.

The host challenged Bogdanovic over the remark, but the former international forward doubled down, insisting that “the majority lack concentration”.

His comments drew widespread attention and condemnation on social media.

RTS, however, has not commented on or apologised for Bogdanovic’s remarks, and a day later had him back in the studio as a regular expert analyst for Argentina-Austria.

Bogdanovic began his career in his hometown of Sarajevo, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for Zeljeznicar, before moving to South Korea and then Japan.

He later returned to Europe, briefly playing for Atletico in Spain and later joining Germany’s Werder Bremen.

He made three appearances for Yugoslavia in 1997.

Belgium and Iran drew 0-0 in their Group G match in Los Angeles, leaving Iran second and Belgium third as both sides battle to reach the next phase.