Belgium's 0-0 draw with Iran should have been the story. Instead, the night was taken over by plain racist live TV comments from Rade Bogdanović after Nathan Ngoy was sent off in the 66th minute for a holding foul.
Ngoy is 23 and was making only his sixth cap for Belgium, which made the dismissal a harsh moment in an already flat game. Belgium finished with 10 men and still could not find a goal, with the match ending goalless.
Bogdanović's on-air remarks
Bogdanović did not hide what he was saying. Speaking on Serbian TV during the World Cup match, he said: "At this level, to be the last defender, to miss a ball that is standing still and then get sent off... I've always said these players, and I'm not racist, but black players don't have the concentration to last more than 60 to 80 minutes."
He then doubled down with another line: "I played with them. Sometimes we had to protect our own players from making mistakes. Modern football doesn't allow this kind of error at World Cup level."
That was enough to turn a red card into a wider scandal. The comments were not subtle, and they were not softened by the usual television talk about discipline or game management.
What the red card changed for Belgium
The dismissal came in the 66th minute, and it left Belgium trying to manage the rest of the match with 10 players. The game still finished 0-0, which tells its own story about how little Belgium got out of the evening.
There is also the wider tournament picture. Belgium sit second in Group G on 2 points after two draws, so the draw added pressure even before the broadcast backlash took over.
The football side of it is plain enough. Ngoy's red card made Belgium's night harder, but Bogdanović's racist comments are what will follow this game around. The draw is part of the record now, though the scandal on Serbian national broadcaster RTS is the part that will be remembered first.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
