Trump says Belgium World Cup win would be 'rigged'

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he would consider a World Cup defeat to Belgium as "rigged," echoing his persistent claims about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Trump made these remarks during an event in Washington to launch an investment scheme for children, addressing the controversy surrounding the U.S. team's preparations for their World Cup Round of 16 match.

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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 also confirmed he had contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of a red card issued to U.S. forward Folarin Balogun. Balogun received the card during the team's victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, which would have resulted in a one-match suspension for the crucial game against Belgium. Trump insisted he had asked for a review because he did not believe the foul warranted a red card.

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I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee subsequently suspended Balogun's one-match ban for a probationary period. This decision, reportedly the first of its kind for a red card suspension in World Cup history in over 60 years, drew sharp criticism from UEFA, European football's governing body. UEFA described the move as "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable," and stated that FIFA had "crossed a red line."

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crossed a red line