Andrew Bogut has found himself at the centre of an international incident after Chinese media wrongfully accused him of making offensive claims against the country.

Still recovering from Australia’s heart-breaking double overtime loss to Spain in Friday night’s controversial FIBA World Cup semi-final in Beijing, Bogut woke up on Saturday to find he is now being accused of making disparaging comments about the World Cup host nation.

Bogut on Friday sensationally appeared to suggest Spain received beneficial refereeing during the hard-fought semi-final because it is in the best interest of FIBA.

The former Golden State Warriors star’s suggestion sparked a global controversy that is expected to result in a FIBA investigation and likely disciplinary action against the veteran centre.

However, with that controversy still swirling, reports emerged on Saturday that Chinese media has also taken offence at Bogut’s outspoken comments as he walked off court through the official mixed media zone on his way to the Aussie dressing room.

According to Fox Sports, Bogut was heard saying: “We all know where FIBA’s headquarters is. It’s a f***ing disgrace. Cheating ass motherf***ers… Google where headquarters of f***ing FIBA is... f***ing disgrace”.

Read: Bogut blows up at FIBA “f***ing disgrace”

WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

Bogut had earlier rubbed his fingers together in a money gesture after he was called for a fourth-quarter foul.

His comments were followed by assistant coach Luc Longley also declaring Spain was given an unfair advantage by the referees.

“We’ve got to find an altar somewhere and burn a sacrifice to the basketball gods, ‘cause they’re not kissing us on the d*** yet, like they do Spain,” he said.

“I feel like Spain are kissed on the d*** by the basketball gods every time we play them.

“It’s gut-wrenching for the guys; they’ve been so f***ing good, so consistent and played so hard and I felt like they deserved to win that and it doesn’t feel like that’s the right result.”

The most controversial decision came when Bogut was penalised for an off-the-ball foul on Marc Gasol with just four seconds remaining in regular time.

The innocuous foul allowed Spain to go ahead before Patty Mills was only able to tie up in the game with his two free-throws in the dying seconds. Spain then went on to score the first eight points of the second overtime period to emerge with a 95-88 win.

Asked about the decision in the press conference, coach Andrej Lemanis said “as you know, I’m not allowed to comment on that”.

However, even more alarming than FIBA’s expected crackdown on Bogut is the way the story has been portrayed in China, with one reporter incorrectly claiming Bogut’s heated words were directed at China.

Bogut has been heckled by local fans throughout the tournament after he earlier this year made outspoken comments about Chinese swimmers, including controversial Olympic champion Sun Yang.

He also took a swipe at the “shambolic” nature of travelling around China earlier this week.

Post-match reports by a local journalist on Chinese social media channel Weibo then wrongfully claimed Bogut’s spray at FIBA was actually a disrespectful attack on China.

In a video which now has more than 150 million views posted by Chinese reporter Chen Yueze, Bogut is accused of making “shameful” comments against China.

“When he walked out of the arena, Bogut had been suspicious of China with swearing words,” the reporter posted on his Weibo account.

“This kind of quantity and quality really makes your team shameful.”

When challenged by followers on Weibo who claimed they could not hear Bogut say anything against China, the reporter then claimed: “There’s an obvious FxxK China, which isn’t to be accepted”.

A few Chinese journalists approached us last night and this morning, asking for clarification on this. It's pretty clear from the vision of the incident that Bogut's anger was directed at FIBA and Spain. Not once did he mention China. https://t.co/NF5ut8Ism9 — Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) September 14, 2019

Those assertions gained traction and Chinese media were spotted hovering at the team’s optional training session on Saturday.

Bogut did not attend the session.

Australia and Bogut — if he plays — will face the wrath of much of the Beijing arena when they take on France for the bronze medal on Sunday night.

The footage of Bogut swearing repeatedly and making accusations of favouritism was widely featured in Chinese media. Many reports called for FIBA to ban him.

— with AAP