USA manager Jurgen Klinsmann has questioned FIFA's decision to select an Algerian referee to take charge of his side's meeting with Belgium in the World Cup last 16.
It was announced on Sunday that French-speaking Djamel Haimoudi, who hails from the same African country that the Americans defeated four years ago in South Africa, would take charge of the game.
"We hope it's not an issue," the 43-year-old is quoted as saying by ABC News. "We know that he's done two games and he did them very well, so we hope he continues in the perfect manner in which he's performed so far.
"But is it a good feeling [having an Algerian referee]? No. He's able to speak with them [in his native language], but not with us. He's also from the country that we eliminated from the last World Cup with a last-minute goal.
"I know it's tricky for Fifa to choose the right referee for the right games but look, it is what it is. We accept it and we're going to be respectful during the game. We're just going to hope that everything goes well."
Haimoudi also officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008 and 2012 and refereed Italy's third-place win over Uruguay at last year's Confederations Cup.
