ABC7 REPORTER APOLOGISES FOR BOSNIA COMMENTS DURING WORLD CUP COVERAGE

Abigail Velez, a reporter for ABC7 Los Angeles, issued an apology on Saturday for on-air remarks about Bosnia-Herzegovina made during coverage of a World Cup match. Velez had stated during a segment on Thursday that she "could not point out where it is on a map" and did not want to know about the country before the United States' next fixture against Bosnia. She added that Bosnia should "get prepared" for the American team. The comments drew responses from Bosnian supporters and international observers across social media platforms.

The Bosnian Football official account on X posted that "the stereotypes write themselves" in reaction to Velez's segment. Football reporter Nima Tavalley Roodsari wrote that admitting inability to locate a country on a map is "not the mic drop moment you think it is". Other commentators described the remarks as evidence of ignorance being treated as entertainment. Velez characterised her segment as a lighthearted attempt to add energy to World Cup coverage, though she acknowledged overshooting that intention.

In her statement, Velez wrote that she had "taken it too far" and made "a thoughtless comment" that was "insensitive and inappropriate". She apologised directly to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team. Velez stated that the World Cup is intended to unite global communities and that her comment failed to reflect that principle. The incident occurred ahead of the scheduled Bosnia versus United States match.