Gianni Infantino under fire as 72 UEFA members demand investigation into FIFA’s handling of Folarin Balogun decision

European soccer’s governing body has also waded into the debate, issuing scathing criticism of the precedent set by U.S. Soccer. While Belgium eventually beat the United States 4-1 on the pitch, UEFA believes the damage to the integrity of the tournament has already been done.

UEFA said in a strongly worded statement: “When custodians no longer guarantee the rules, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of the competition is undermined. Likewise, such a decision creates a precedent in the current tournament, where similar situations will now require equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustified decision.”