FIFA 22 Ultimate Team removes Russian players, clubs and items

Players of Russian football clubs, their kits, managers of those teams and other Russian items are no longer available in FIFA Ultimate Team’s card packs, EA Sports tells players in this week.

In a message that welcomes players on to login, players are told that a range of Russian players and branded items are no longer available “consistent with real-world actions taken by our partners.” done by us at FIFA and UEFA”. Last week, EA Sports’ FIFA 22 and NHL 22 also removed Russian national teams from their lineups, which corresponds to the expulsion of Russian teams and opponents from several events by world sports bodies at the end of February. The bans were implemented as a response to Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“EA Sports stands in solidarity with the People of Ukraine and, like so many voices around the world of football, calls for peace and an end to aggression in Ukraine,” the statement said.

In FIFA Ultimate Team, a huge money-making company for Electronic Arts, players assemble all-star teams consisting of players from different countries and clubs, dressing them in different uniforms and decorate their stadiums with tifos, banners and other designs specific to other clubs or countries. These items are obtained by randomly drawing in card packs. Players who have acquired them can also auction them off for in-game currency, in the FUT’s Transfer Market.

EA Sports says players who have already purchased the Russian items in question will still be able to keep them. But their exchange prices on the Transfer Market will be fixed, to prevent any profiteering from their newfound scarcity.

Items mentioned, according to Tuesday’s announcement:

• Player items from Russian clubs
• Kit items from Russian clubs
• Stadia and Stadium Items from Russian clubs and national teams
• Russian Manager League consumables
• Management categories from the Russian Premier League

EA Sports said last week it would remove the Russian and Belarusian national clubs from FIFA 22 (as NHL 22). But Russians who play in non-Russian leagues still seem to be included in the FIFA Ultimate Team card pack.

Electronic Arts also announced that it will not sell its games, content or virtual currency in Russia or its ally, Belarus, while the war continues in Ukraine. Later, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykhalio Fedorov, especially video game companies like Microsoft and PlayStation, called for a halt to sales in Russia.

The private-sector boycott of Russia is in addition to sanctions that the United States, European Union and others have imposed since the invasion began. Apple, Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount also ceased operations and sales in Russia, along with the petroleum giants Shell and BP.