EA Sports (a subdivision of Electronic Arts video game company that develops and publishes sports simulators) removes the Russians from the FIFA game series due to war in Ukraine.
The message was published by the Ukrainian Association of Football.
"The Russians can’t be escaping reality in video games while their troops are killing Ukrainians", - the message states.
The Association also stated that the Russians would be removed from NHL, the hockey simulator, as well.
According to sources, EA has already sent the letter regarding the removal of Russia from the game to its employees. Two options are discussed – either the Russian national team or all the Russian teams, including the athletes with Russian citizenship who play for European clubs, are due to removal.
It will be recalled that due to the war in Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended the Russian national football team from all tournaments. On 25 February, the UEFA Executive Committee also voted to move the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris this season.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also condemned the military aggression against Ukraine and barred the national teams of Russia and Belarus, which supports the Russian army and from whose territory missiles are being launched, from participating in matches indefinitely.
On February 28, the official online address of Ukrainian athletes to the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees appeared. In the address, the athletes appealed to the IOC and the IPC not to admit Russian athletes to international tournaments, as well as those from Belarus, assisting Russia in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The IOC called for another meeting of the Executive Committee to consider the current situation regarding the war in Ukraine. Despite the fact that for a long time the organization stood on the principles of non-interference of sports in politics, its position has changed.