The coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sergej Barbarez, has declined to apologize to Steve Cooper after alleging that the Brondby manager excluded his player Benjamin Tahirovic from club activities to assist Wales’ World Cup aspirations.
Wales will face Bosnia in a playoff semifinal in Cardiff on Thursday, with the victor set to host Italy or Northern Ireland the following Tuesday.
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Barbarez accused Cooper of attempting to aid his home nation of Wales on Monday, allegations that were firmly denied by Brondby, who stated that the decision to bench key Bosnia midfielder Tahirovic was made at the club level.
Tahirovic later expressed regret to Cooper for Barbarez’s remarks, but the Bosnia head coach was not inclined to retract his statements upon arriving in Cardiff, indicating he had created a “puzzle” for others to ponder.
“I don’t believe I owe an apology for anything,” Barbarez stated during his pre-match press conference.
“The most crucial aspect for me is that I have faith in my players, and the intention behind all this was to create a puzzle for you to contemplate regarding these matters.
“I aimed to safeguard the player. That is the origin of all this discussion.
“I have known Benjamin for the past two years, and I recognize what a talented player he is and what he is capable of. Therefore, I think we should focus on the match, which is the most vital element for both teams.”
Bosnia is ranked 71st in the world, 35 places lower than Wales, but they were just 13 minutes away from securing World Cup qualification in November as group winners.
An equalizer from Austria in Vienna dashed that hope and led them to the playoffs instead.
However, Bosniaβwhose sole prior World Cup appearance was in Brazil in 2014βhas not suffered a defeat in four encounters against Wales, achieving two victories and two draws.
Barbarez remarked: “This is the kind of match we all play football for, and everyone is fit and prepared to compete.
“We cannot draw comparisons between these two matches, against Wales and Austria. We derived some conclusions from the Austria match, which was quite an experience.
“We have a solid opportunity because of that experience. We have a strategy in place, covering every possible scenario, including penalties and extra time. We are optimistic.”
