A US TV reporter had to apologise after she received backlash for making inappropriate comments about the Bosnian national football team ahead of their match with Herzegovina.
Abigail Velez, a reporter who works with the ABC7 Los Angeles, apologised on Saturday to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian national football team.
Velez made her initial comments when covering the US national team’s match at a viewing party on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, when she updated viewers on America’s next opponent after the 3-2 loss to Turkey.
In a TV report for the local TV station, she said that she “would not be able to locate Bosnia on a map”, admitting that she knew nothing about the country and that she had no interest in learning more about it.
She added to that, saying that the team should get ready to face the United States.
“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 said, adding, “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 then doubled down on her comments, saying, “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,” before the report ended.
The backlash was immediate.
Fans of the Bosnian team called out the reporter on social media.
One account on X, ‘Bosnian Football’ wrote: “My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves…”
Users took to pointing out American stereotypes to call out the stereotype.
One netizen said. “The weirdest things about Americans is that they feel it’s like a flex to say 'I don’t even know where they are on a map.’”
On Saturday, Velez took to Instagram to apologise after backlash.
She said that she made“a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate.”
“In a poor effort to have a little fun with World Cup competition, I took it too far,” she wrote.
“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 concluded by wishing “all the teams the very best as they continue their World Cup journey.”
The US finished group play 2-0-1, finishing on top of the Group D table with 6 points and earning the group’s number one spot.
Bosnia finished third in Group B play with four points after going 1-1-1, but qualified for the knock-out round after being one of the best third-place teams. The team had a 1-1 draw with Canada in Toronto and a 3-1 win over Qatar. This is the first time Bosnia has reached the knockout stage at the World Cup.
