Reporter apologizes for World Cup trash talk of Bosnia after backlash from those with fanny packs in a bunch
Abigail Velez was covering a USMNT viewing party in Long Beach, Calif., for ABC7 Los Angeles on Thursday when she innocently began rambling on about the team’s next opponent.
His apparently cheerful comments came after the United States lost to Türkiye. He was looking forward to his next opponent, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and said: “In the next round, Team USA will play Bosnia next Wednesday, and there’s something about Bosnia; I couldn’t point to where it was on the map.”
Velez continued: “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. This is next Wednesday. Get ready, Bosnia, because you don’t want it, you don’t want it this way, but you’re going to make it. This is next Wednesday.”
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Alicia Silverstone, Tig Notaro and Abigail Velez attend the WIF Oscar Nominees Celebration at Wheelhouse on March 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Classic trash talk, or so you think. Of course, this was not an attack on the Bosnian people. In the context of an upcoming World Cup match, however, that hasn’t stopped some from packing fanny packs. Apparently there are enough people for him to apologize.
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The Bosnian national football team was among those carrying waist bags together. who tweeted“Oh my god, the stereotypes write themselves….”
This tweet includes Velez’s comments and has been seen more than 10 million times as I write this. If they hadn’t done this, I would have considered it a funny response to Velez’s ridiculous speech. provided an updateApparently he was enjoying the fact that he had apologized.
“In my meager attempt to have some fun during the World Cup competition, I took things too far and made a thoughtless, insensitive and inappropriate comment on air. I apologize to the people of Bosnia and the Bosnian Football Team.” Velez said in his statement:.
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“The World Cup was supposed to be about uniting communities around the world and my comment did not reflect that spirit. I wish all the teams the best as they continue their World Cup journey.”
In fact, stereotypes write themselves. There are too many softies out there who can’t take a joke and can’t handle a little trash talk without taking offense and demanding an apology.
