In just a few seconds on air, with a single sentence spoken, Abigail Velez reinforced the stereotype that Americans are arrogant and uninterested in anything outside their own country. At the end of last week, when it was certain that the United States would face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, the journalist from ABC7 Los Angeles commented on this opposition.
And the least we can say is that she did not take the Bosnians seriously. “Speaking of Bosnia, I couldn’t even place it on the map,” she laughed. Besides, I don’t know anything about this country and I don’t want to know anything because Team USA is stronger than ever.”
Obviously, this speech sparked controversy in Bosnia. It even turned into an own goal for Abigail Velez. For what? Because Almin Almin Karamehmedovic, the big boss of the ABC group, was born in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The journalist was forced to apologize for her comments on her Instagram account. “In a poor attempt to bring some humor to this World Cup, I went too far. “I was tactless and what I said was inappropriate,” she wrote. I apologize to the Bosnian people.”
A similar episode with Italy
This episode will certainly provide additional motivation to the Zmajevi. Last March, Edin Dzeko and his teammates had already suffered from the overconfidence of Italian players before the qualifying play-off between the two teams.
Bosnia-Herzegovina won on penalties, putting an end to the Squadra Azzurra’s World Cup dreams. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, it will have the same objective: eliminate the United States from their World Cup.
