If Belgium Beat USA I Will Say It Was Rigged, Says Trump

United States President, Donald Trump, has said he would consider a defeat to Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16 as “rigged,” comparing such an outcome to his long-running claims about the 2020 US presidential election.

Naija News reports that Trump made the remark while speaking at an Oval Office event in Washington to mark the launch of “Trump Accounts,” an investment scheme for children.

His comment came amid controversy over the United States of America (USA) team’s preparations for Tuesday’s last-16 clash against Belgium in Seattle, following the reversal of a red-card suspension imposed on US forward, Folarin Balogun.

Speaking on the match, Trump said both teams should be allowed to field their strongest players.

“This game would have a big mark on it. If we lost, if we won, no matter what happened, you have to let them use their best players. And the game tonight’s gonna be amazing, and we’re gonna have a full team, and Belgium’s gonna have a full team,” the US President said.

Trump added that Belgium would deserve credit if it defeated the American team under fair conditions.

“And you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, we’ll say it was, I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020, but I won’t get into that,” Trump said.

Trump also confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of the red card issued to Balogun during the United States’ Round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California, last Wednesday.

“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said.

He added that he “didn’t know what the hell a red card was” before the incident.

Balogun, one of the key players in the US squad, had been sent off during the match, a decision that under FIFA rules carried an automatic one-match suspension without appeal.

The suspension would have ruled him out of Monday’s Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle.

The New York Times had reported, citing three unnamed sources, that Trump called Infantino last Wednesday to ask him to review the decision.

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee later suspended the ban for a one-year probationary period, relying on Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows a judicial body to fully or partly suspend a disciplinary measure.

The decision cleared Balogun to feature in the crucial match against Belgium.

The reversal has sparked outrage in European football circles, with UEFA describing the decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

The European football governing body also accused FIFA of having “crossed a red line.”

According to reports, the reversal is the first of its kind for a red-card suspension in more than 60 years of World Cup history.