The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to have consequences for the invading country – even in the sports world. On Wednesday, EA Sports has announced it will remove all Russian clubs and the national team from FIFA 22.
This is one of the many decisions that have been made in world soccer in response to the invasion of Ukraine. UEFA and FIFA havesuspended all Russian teams from their competitions, which would prevent Russia’s men’s side from playing in the European World Cup Qualifying playoffs for Qatar 2022 and the women’s team from taking part in the Euro 2022. In addition, Spartak Moscow – the only Russian team standingin European competition – was removed from the Europa League.
Previously, the 2021-22 Champions League final – which was originally set to be played in Saint Petersburg – was relocated to France, and Schalke 04 cut ties with their main sponsor Gazprom (a Russian state-owned energy company). Now, Russia’s actions will also have consequences in the popular soccervideo game.
EA Sports will remove all Russian clubs and the national team from FIFA 22
“EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine,” a statement released by EA Sports read.
“In line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports has initiated process to remove the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from EA Sports FIFA products including: FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online. We’re also actively evaluating related changes to other areas of our games. We will keep our communities up to date on any actions taken, and thank players for their patience as we work through these updates.”
Thedeveloper is also planningto remove Russian and Belarusian clubs from another of its popular video games, NHL 22, in the wake of the decision from theInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to suspend both countries from its tournaments.