As the red card means an automatic one-match ban, the 25-year-old was supposed to sit through Team USA's game against Belgium. But in a shock decision, FIFA broke its own rule to suspend the automatic one-match ban for 12 months after Trump called for a review. This sparked major criticism, with many suggesting that political interventions undermined the integrity of the tournament and set a dangerous precedent. To which Piers also chimed: "So wrong, Mr President."

During a Monday press conference at the White House, Trump stated: "The people in Belgium, if they win the game, they can be very proud. If they would win the game with the player missing, it would be a different feeling. You can’t do that.

"And I’m very glad. All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, 'You have to do this.'" Speaking on the President of FIFA, the US leader praised: "This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man.

"His stock has gone through the roof because the job he's done has been great, and I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field; you can't take the best players."

This marked the first time since 1962 that a red card in a World Cup match did not result in a suspension.

Despite this, after taking on Belgium, the USA lost 4-1, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring twice and Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku also scoring.

Following FIFA's overturning of the red card rule, many have called for Infantino to resign, including politicians and football bodies, and there have been demands which were led by former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

"This is our sport, not theirs," said Klopp. "If Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino really sorted this out between themselves, it is madness; it calls everything into question."

Former Football Association chairman David Bernstein added that the situation is "absolutely wrong, awful. It hits at one of the beauties of football, the worldwide application across the world of regulations and rules."

As Clive Betts, a Labour MP who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group for football, said: "The first thing they’ve got to do is explain their decision, and if it literally was just a phone call from Trump, then I’m sorry, but I think he has to resign or Fifa has to sack him if he won’t."

"Infantino must go," blasted Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader. "No matter where it’s held, the World Cup belongs to the fans, not gangsters like Trump."