Belgium coach Rudi Garcia has dismissed racism allegations he faced after an interview following his team's 3-2 victory in extra time against Senegal in the World Cup last 32.
Garcia had said post match Wednesday that "we know those teams: Towards the end of the match they lose their tactical structure."
The statement was criticised as directed against African teams and racist.
Garcia said in a statement on X on Thursday that with "those teams" he referred to teams "that are unaccustomed to managing a lead in high-level World Cup matches.
"My comments were by no means aimed at African teams. They could just as easily applied to Asian, South American or European teams unfamiliar with that kind of pressure."
Senegal led 2-0 after 85 minutes before Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans forced extra time. There Tielemans converted a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, at 125 minutes the latest goal in World Cup history, for the winner.
Garcia said he learnt from personal experience "the hard way that stopping play to defend a result at all costs is counterproductive."
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw had said in the post match news conference that he did not share Garcia's view when asked about the original statement from the Belgium coach.
