Juergen Klinsmann not happy with referee assigned to U.S.-Belgium game

Since moving to his adopted country, German-born Juergen Klinsmann has picked up on the gamesmanship for which the fraternity of American sports coaches is notorious.

On the eve of its World Cup encounter with Belgium, the Team USA headmaster griped over FIFA assigning an Algerian referee to work the game. Klinsmann, in a stretch that would make a yoga instructor proud, expressed concern about bias because Algeria belonged to the same group as Belgium. Also, that the U.S. beat Algeria way back in 2010. Also, that Djamel Haimoudi, the man tooting the whistle, speaks French, the native tongue of the Algerians.

Klinsmann glossed over the fact that all referees are required to speak Team USA’s native language.

The coach previously found fault with FIFA burdening his team with perhaps the heaviest travel demands at the tournament and allowing Germany an extra day of rest before their match. Left unsaid was that such developments happened randomly.

On the lighter side, the White House has not responded to a bet pitched by Belgium Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. He tweeted out an offer to risk a collection of beers from Belgium, considered ground central for brews by some hopheads.

President Obama, who has been photographed watching Cup games, is either disinterested or is deciding comparable items to put up in a wager.

And Waffle House, the breakfast-oriented restaurant chain with a presence in half of these United States, bragged via Twitter that its menus offer no Belgian waffles, only American-style. It urged Team USA followers to refrain from ordering the Belgian version all game day.