ABC7 reporter Abigail Velez apologized after trash-talking Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the USMNT's next World Cup match during a live broadcast in Long Beach, California. The comments, made during a USMNT watch party, were intended as lighthearted banter but drew criticism online.
Velez stated that her comments were a "poor effort to have a little fun with World Cup competition" and that she "took it too far and made a thoughtless comment on air that was insensitive and inappropriate." She extended her apologies to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team, adding that her remark did not reflect the World Cup's spirit of uniting communities.
The Bosnian national soccer team had responded to Velez's comments on Twitter, stating, "My goodness, the stereotypes write themselves..."
The incident occurred following the USA's loss to Turkey, as Velez looked ahead to the team's upcoming match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. She had said, "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... Get prepared, Bosnia, because you don’t want it, you don’t want it like that, but you’re gonna get it."