Published June 28th, 2026 - 08:51 GMT
ALBAWABA - Abigail Velez, an American award-winning reporter from Los Angeles, has been covering the World Cup as the tournament unfolds across the American continent - prior to the upcoming match between the U.S. and Bosnia, she made an ignorant joke about the country which forced her to apologize later.During a viewing party in Los Angeles, Abigail talked about the U.S.’s upcoming match against Bosnia after their 3-2 loss against Turkey, saying:“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.”“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 tossing the report back to the station.Bosnians erupted on X, making various posts declaiming the reporter’s ignorant comments about their country:Under pressure, however, the reporter was forced to apologize - saying in a later statement:As the World Cup continues across the U.S, it seems that a few culture clashes here and there are inevitable.
