Bosnia’s Armed Forces member Boris Lovric from Kiseljak, Southern Bosnia, attracted a lot of public attention after addressing his fellow citizens ahead of the Croatia-England World Cup match, Wednesday, via Facebook, asking them “not to make a mockery of themselves.”

With mostly Bosnian Croats living in Herzegovina, Lovric asked his fellow citizens to root for Croatia, but not to “spit on what gave birth to them and their Bosnian heritage.”

“Since a number of Siroki Brijeg citizens brought shame to themselves the other day, by singing ‘F… Bosnia, and that Croatia is their homeland,’ I’d like to ask you something. I beg of you that this doesn’t happen to us (in Kiseljak). We are Bosnian Croats. Remember all our rulers, kings and queens of Bosnia who were today's Croats,” Lovric said. “Your roots are from here, not from Croatia, but your people also live in Croatia and we should root for them, but do not spit on what gave birth to you, on your roots and our Bosnia.”

“Let’s not embarrass ourselves because of a handful of idiots who sang against our cultural heritage. Don’t spit on yourselves. As much as you’re a Croat, you’re even more a Bosnian. P.S: Think of me what you want, I did my part. If I could  reach just a few of you, this post had achieved its purpose.”

His post attracted countless comments and shares on Facebook. While some supported him and his views, there were those who spoke against him.

On Friday, Lovric deleted his comment and wrote another saying it was never his intention to insult or hurt anyone.

“I never wanted any media attention or anyone’s praise or ‘likes.’ I apologise to anyone who might have felt insulted by my post. It was never my intention to insult anyone,” Lovric said in a new Facebook post, after deleting the previous one.

After the match between Croatia and England, Croatian fans celebrated the victory in Siroki Brijeg and Mostar by singing insults against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Later that day, Siroki Brijeg Mayor Miro Kraljevic distanced himself from the fans who yelled insults against Bosnia by saying “Siroki Brijeg needs Sarajevo (the Capital) as much as Sarajevo needs Siroki Brijeg,” adding that sports must be a source of family bonding, not a source of hostility and tensions.