A US television journalist apologised on Sunday after she appeared to speak disrespectfully about the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina during a World Cup report. ABC7 Los Angeles reporter Abigail Velez was covering the US national team's match at a viewing party in Long Beach, California, on Thursday when she updated viewers on the team's next opponent following the US's 3-2 defeat to Turkey. “The next round, Team USA will play Bosnia next Wednesday and one thing about Bosnia, I could not point out where it is on a map,” Velez quipped. “I don’t know the first thing about Bosnia and I don’t want to know because Team USA, we’re back, we’re better than ever.” Velez, who has worked at the station since November 2025, continued her remarks by telling the south-eastern European nation to prepare for the upcoming match against the United States. “That’s next Wednesday. Get prepared, Bosnia, because you don’t want it, you don’t want it like that, but you’re gonna get it. That’s next Wednesday,” she said before handing the broadcast back to the studio. The comments were shared widely on social media on Friday, including by Bosnian social media accounts and pages.
“My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves……” X account Bosnian Football wrote, alongside a clip of Velez’s report. "I was already planning to support Bosnia… but now? We are ALL Bosnia," one user wrote on X. Another added: "One ignorant reporter doesn’t represent how the rest of the USA feels about Bosnia and Herzegovina." They continued: "Bosnia and Herzegovina earned its way into the Round of 32 and deserves more respect than what this reporter gave them. Ridiculous that a reporter would go on tv and say this." In a statement later posted on X, Velez later described the remarks as a “poor effort to have a little fun” and said the segment had been intended as a light-hearted contribution that went too far. “In a poor effort to have a little fun with World Cup competition, I took it too far and made a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate,” Velez wrote on X. “I apologize to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team. “The World Cup is supposed to be about uniting communities around the world, and my comment didn’t reflect that spirit,” she added. “Wishing all the teams the very best as they continue their World Cup journey.” The United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina will meet at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday.
A draw with Canada and a victory over Qatar were enough for Bosnia and Herzegovina to finish third in Group B and progress to the knockout stages for the first time as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams. This marks Bosnia and Herzegovina's second World Cup appearance as an independent nation, having previously competed at the 2014 tournament in Brazil . The country endured a devastating conflict following its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1992, which led to the Bosnian War. During the conflict, Bosnian Serb forces carried out acts of genocide against Bosniak Muslims , leaving a legacy that continues to shape the country's modern history.