https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/06/trump-fifa-balogun-red-card-review-intervention

I'll just leave that there. 

On Monday, Trump repeatedly said Balogun’s challenge should never have resulted in a dismissal. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “So I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well. Really well.

“That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. You can’t take your foot and properly place it on somebody else’s foot when you’re going full speed. These were two great athletes that got tangled up.

“If he punched him in the face, if he did something wrong, I’d feel differently.”

Trump added: “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 other way, if they beat us ... I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.”

He described the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus as “very suspect” and said the official had made “a call that nobody could believe”. He also suggested reporters examine Claus’s record, without elaborating.

Trump said he only learned after the match that a straight red card carried an automatic suspension. “It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game,” he said. “But how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair.”