A reporter who went viral for proudly claiming that she didn’t know where Bosnia and Herzegovina was on a map has since apologized.
Abigail Velez, a reporter and fill-in anchor for ABC7 in Los Angeles, made the comments ahead of the upcoming Round of 32 matchup between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the U.S. men’s national team (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox). A clip of the segment went viral, with critics pointing to Velez seemingly being proud of her ignorance.
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As a result, Velez walked back her words in a statement posted to social media on Saturday.
“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. I apologize to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football team,” Velez said in the statement. “The World Cup is supposed to be about uniting communities around the world, and my comment didn’t reflect that spirit.”
Velez’s comments had come as part of a spot from Long Beach in the wake of the USMNT’s loss to Türkiye on Thursday. The U.S. won the group despite the loss, setting up the matchup with Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara.
A Bosnian football account posted a clip of the segment on Friday, prompting the comments to go viral.
“One thing about Bosnia, I could not point out where it is on a map. I don’t know the first thing about Bosnia, and I don’t wanna know. That’s because Team USA, we’re back, we’re better than ever,” Velez said in the clip. “Get prepared Bosnia, because you don’t want it. You don’t want it like that. But you’re gonna get it.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the Balkan peninsula, a region with a long history of conflict and violence. The country’s national team competed as part of Yugoslavia until its independence in 1992.
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This is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s second World Cup appearance as an independent country, after participating in the 2014 tournament in Brazil. At the 2026 tournament, a draw with Canada and a win over Qatar was enough for Bosnia and Herzegovina to end in third place in Group B; they now advance to the knockout round for the first time, as one of the top third-place finishing teams.
