President Donald Trump said on Monday he asked FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review a red-card foul against USA striker Folarin Balogun and that he did not think the foul called by the "horrible" referee was fair.
"All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn't think it was a foul," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The Republican president also took aim at Raphael Claus, the Brazilian referee who made the call, describing him as "a little bit suspect if you check his past."
Balogun had been set to miss Monday's last-16 knockout clash against Belgium after receiving a straight red card following video review for stepping on the foot of a Bosnian defender in a round-of-32 clash that the US won 2-0.
Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban, which cannot be appealed by the player's team.
But world football's governing body said Sunday the ban will now be suspended for a year after the personal call from Trump.
"We're going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud," the US president said Monday.
"The other way, if they beat us... I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020," Trump said, referring to his false claims of widespread fraud in the vote he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
