Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku has openly criticized the Belgian Football Federation for its handling of the conflict between Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and national team coach Domenico Tedesco.

"The Belgian Federation should have managed this issue better," Lukaku stated in the Koolcast podcast from "Friends of Sports." He suggested that the federation should have made it clear at the first press conference that questions about Courtois would not be tolerated, similar to how Sir Alex Ferguson controlled media interactions at Manchester United. "They could have reduced the pressure on the coach and on Thibaut."

Courtois, 32, has chosen to withdraw from the national team as long as Tedesco remains the coach, following a public feud that began in June 2023. The conflict escalated when Courtois felt disrespected after not being named captain in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and left the national team's camp.

While Courtois claimed he left due to physical discomfort, Tedesco contradicted that in a press conference, revealing that the issue stemmed from the captaincy.

"We had decided that Romelu would be captain against Austria and Thibaut against Estonia. Everything was fine. After the match, he felt offended by that. I'm surprised and shocked. I didn't expect something like this to happen. A injury? It would be easy for me to say he’s injured. But that would be a lie," Tedesco remarked.

That same evening, Courtois responded, stating, "The coach's assessments do not correspond to reality," and their relationship has not improved since.

Lukaku added, "This happens in other countries, but rarely in Belgium. I know Thibaut, I know the coach, and I've talked to both. The coach said what he said, but then the federation should have intervened. Now, this matter is still unresolved. In what other country does this happen?"