Bosnia boss Barbarez refuses to apologise to Cooper

Bosnia boss Barbarez refuses to apologise to CooperImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Bosnia-Herzegovina manager Sergei Barbarez was appointed to lead the national team in April 2024ByChris WathanBBC Sport WalesPublished26 minutes agoBosnia-Herzegovina manager Sergei Barbarez has refused to apologise to Brondby’s Welsh boss Steve Cooper for his controversial comments in the lead-up to Thursday’s World Cup play-off in Cardiff.Barbarez had accused Cooper of dropping Bosnia midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic from the Danish side because of this week’s qualifier against Wales, something Brondby officials denied.Tahirovic is understood to have since contacted Cooper to apologise about the matter.Asked if he would follow suit, Barbarez reported: “I don’t think I should apologise for anything.”Instead, the former Bosnia-Herzegovina striker hinted he had deliberately created headlines to deflect attention away from the 23-year-old former Roma and Ajax player.”The only important thing for me is that I trust my players, and the idea of all this was to create a puzzle for you so you can think about all these things,” reported Barbarez.”I had the idea to protect the player. That’s where all this talking was from.”I’ve known Benjamin for the last two years, and I know what a good player he is and how he can be.”So I think we should concentrate on tomorrow’s match, which is the most important thing for both teams.”Cooper gets apology in Wales v Bosnia dropping row