GENEVA — An all-time controversy in the World Cup's 96-year history was raging Monday ahead of the co-host United States and forward Folarin Balogun facing Belgium with a quarterfinals place at stake.The Belgian soccer federation said it is challenging FIFA's ruling to let Balogun play despite getting a red card in his previous game — a shocking move made Sunday after pressure on the world soccer body's leader Gianni Infantino from his close ally, U.S.President Donald Trump.The "deeply concerned" Belgians' statement just 11 hours before starting their round of 16 game in Seattle showed clear frustration with FIFA at what seemed a lack of good faith in shaping an urgent legal process.European soccer body UEFA earlier criticized FIFA for an "incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision," that it said "crossed a red line" by not enforcing Balogun's mandatory one-game ban for his foul tackle against Bosnia-Herzegovina last Wednesday.FIFA's ruling Sunday — to defer Balogun's ban for one year of probation — deviated from soccer's traditional rule of law and drew stinging criticism globally including from former World Cup stars and coaches at this tournament."It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup," Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said Sunday after his team beat Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: "Sometimes rules are open to interpretation.
In this case not.""When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined," said the European soccer body, which has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in FIFA power."We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision," said UEFA, where Infantino was its CEO-like general secretary from 2009 until being elected to lead FIFA in February 2016.FIFA was asked Monday to comment on the UEFA crit...