ABC Los Angeles Journalist Apologizes After Comments on Bosnia and Herzegovina World Cup Match

Abigail Velez, a journalist employed by ABC Los Angeles, posted a public apology on Saturday after comments she made during a news segment about Bosnia and Herzegovina. GB News reported that Velez said on air she could not point out where Bosnia is on a map and added that she did not know the first thing about the country and did not want to know.

The segment addressed the upcoming World Cup round-of-32 match between Team USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina scheduled for the following Wednesday.

In the apology, Velez wrote that she took the remarks too far in an effort to have fun with the competition and described the comment as insensitive and inappropriate. She apologized directly to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian football team. Bosnia and Herzegovina reached the knockout stage with the best third-place finish in Group B.

The team opened with a 1-1 draw against Canada, where Jovo Lukic scored its goal, then lost 4-1 to Switzerland before defeating Qatar with goals from Kerim Alajbegovic and Ermin Mahmic plus an own goal by Ibrahiam Abunada.