Serbian pundit Bogdanovic apologises for racist slur about black players on live TV

Former international striker Rade Bogdanovic has apologised after making a racist slur about black players during a live television broadcast, while working as a pundit for Serbian public broadcaster RTS at the World Cup. The 56-year-old made the comments on the evening of Sunday, 21 June, while analysing Nathan Ngoy’s 67th-minute red card in Belgium’s 0-0 draw with Iran in Group G.

Ngoy, the Belgium centre-back, was dismissed after hauling down Mehdi Taremi following an underhit backpass to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, earning a straight red card. Discussing the incident, Bogdanovic 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.”

The programme’s host immediately challenged the remark, but Bogdanovic doubled down, adding that “the majority lack concentration.” The comments drew swift condemnation on social media. Despite the backlash, RTS retained Bogdanovic for their coverage of Argentina’s clash with Austria the following evening before both the pundit and the broadcaster issued apologies.

In a statement to Reuters, Bogdanovic said: “I sincerely apologise for my statement regarding black football players.” RTS, for its part, clarified that Bogdanovic was not a staff employee but had been “engaged as an expert commentator for the duration of the tournament.” The broadcaster added: “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.”

Bogdanovic, who represented Yugoslavia three times in the late 1990s, had a journeyman playing career that took him to clubs including Atletico Madrid, Werder Bremen, and teams in Japan, South Korea and Abu Dhabi.

Ngoy served an automatic one-match suspension for Belgium’s Group G finale against New Zealand, which Rudi Garcia’s side won 5-1 to advance as group winners. He returned to the squad for Belgium’s 3-2 extra-time victory over Senegal in the last 32, though he did not come off the bench.