The episode has dominated much of the build-up to Thursday’s World Cup play-off
21:20, 25 Mar 2026Updated 21:25, 25 Mar 2026
Head coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sergej Barbarez has refused to apologise for comments made about former Swansea City boss Steve Cooper
Bosnia boss Sergej Barbarez insists he has no reason to apologise to Steve Cooper after stunningly accusing the Brondby head coach of resting one of his players to help Wales’ World Cup bid.
Wales face Bosnia in a play-off semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday, with Italy or Northern Ireland awaiting the winners next Tuesday.
Barbarez previously claimed the Pontypridd native had deliberately benched midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic in a bid to help Wales, an accusation that has been roundly denied by the Danish side.
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Tahirovic has reportedly apologised to former Swansea City boss Cooper over the episode, but Barbarez himself seemed more unwilling to back down when asked on the eve of Thursday’s clash.
“I don’t think I should apologise for anything,” he said at his pre-match press conference.
“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.
“I had the idea to protect the player. That’s where all this talking was from.
Cooper had reportedly received an apology from Tahirovic himself(Image: Getty Images)
“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 the match, which is the most important thing for both teams.”
Wales boss Craig Bellamy was also asked about Barbarez’s comments at his own pre-match press conference earlier in the day.
“Yeah, I told him (Cooper) ‘rest your players and don’t play anyone who’s going to be here’,” he joked.
“I like Coops. I haven’t spoken to him since he’s gone to Brondby.
“It’s rare you get that, because I don’t think you’d ever question anyone really.
“As much as I know Coops would love us to win because he’s Welsh, he only cares about Brondby – and rightly so.”
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