diff --git a/docs/manual/adding-packages-generic.adoc b/docs/manual/adding-packages-generic.adoc
index f0b0508f53..7e2e066c16 100644
--- a/docs/manual/adding-packages-generic.adoc
+++ b/docs/manual/adding-packages-generic.adoc
@@ -270,7 +270,9 @@ not and can not work as people would expect it should:
   server-side checking for user logins and passwords, or to use a proxy.
   All download methods valid for +LIBFOO_SITE_METHOD+ are supported;
   valid options depend on the download method (consult the man page
-  for the respective download utilities).
+  for the respective download utilities). For git, +FOO_DL_OPTS+ will
+  only be passed to `git fetch` and no other git command (esp. not to
+  `git lfs fetch` or `git submodule update`).
 
 * +LIBFOO_EXTRA_DOWNLOADS+ is a space-separated list of additional
   files that Buildroot should download. If an entry contains +://+
diff --git a/support/download/git b/support/download/git
index 8123bc3153..fdc00607cc 100755
--- a/support/download/git
+++ b/support/download/git
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ fi
 _git remote set-url origin "'${uri}'"
 
 printf "Fetching all references\n"
-_git fetch origin
-_git fetch origin -t -f
+_git fetch "${@}" origin
+_git fetch "${@}" origin -t -f
 
 # Try to get the special refs exposed by some forges (pull-requests for
 # github, changes for gerrit...). There is no easy way to know whether
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ _git fetch origin -t -f
 # below, if there is an issue anyway. Since most of the cset we're gonna
 # have to clone are not such special refs, consign the output to oblivion
 # so as not to alarm unsuspecting users, but still trace it as a warning.
-if ! _git fetch origin "'${cset}:${cset}'" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+if ! _git fetch "${@}" origin "'${cset}:${cset}'" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     printf "Could not fetch special ref '%s'; assuming it is not special.\n" "${cset}"
 fi