EA Sports have removed all Russian teams from FIFA 22 and NHL 22

Following in the footsteps of the physical football world, EA Sports have taken out all Russian teams from FIFA 22.

Football’s governing body, FIFA, excluded Russia and its club sides from competing in football competition globally. FIFA made this extraordinary move in condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Their decision came about after numerous national football federations stated their refusal to play Russia. Both Sweden and Poland said they would not play Russia if their paths crossed in the World Cup play-offs. Similarly, the FA released a statement to say that England sides would not play against Russia at any level.

As a result, EA Sports have decided to take action.

EA Sports statement

In a statement released on social media, EA gave their support to Ukrainian citizens.

“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,” said the statement released on Wednesday.

The gaming giant then announced the removal of the Russian national team and Russian clubs from the game across all platforms.

EA followed suit in their NHL game franchise. They stated that the game will no longer have Russian and Belarusian club and national ice hockey teams.

A separate post detailed the reasoning: “Following the IIHF’s suspension of all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams from IIHF competitions, we will be removing these teams from NHL 22 within the coming weeks.”

Which Russian teams are no longer in FIFA 22?

EA’s announcement demonstrates solidarity with Ukraine and aligns the gaming brand with the rest of the sporting world as condemning Russia’s invasion.

The impact on FIFA 22, however, is not so big.

The Russian national team has been taken out, along with all Russian club sides in the game. As EA does not have a full license for the Russian league, they only had three teams to begin with.

The three sides affected by the ban are Lokomotiv Moscow, CSKA Moscow, and Spartak Moscow. Their removal will hurt Russian gamers, who may no longer be able to play as their favourite team.

Whether Russian players, such as icon Lev Yashin, will be removed from the game or not is unclear.