The removals pertain only to Russian teams, whether the national sides in FIFA and NHL 22 or the professional football clubs CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Spartak Moscow, and Zenit Saint Petersburg. Belarus, which borders Ukraine’s north, is a Kremlin ally and has been a staging area for the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine.Ī statement from EA SPORTS NHL: /2uX4h55ok4- EA SPORTS NHL March 2, 2022 The IIHF followed suit by expelling Russia and Belarus from six tournaments - women’s, men’s, under-18, juniors, and other world championships - to be held between March and September.ĮA Sports cited these moves - all but the IOC are licensing partners - in Wednesday’s decisions to remove Russian and Belarusian teams from its games. Then FIFA, under heavy pressure led by the Polish soccer federation, suspended Russia out of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup on Monday.Īlso Monday, the International Olympic Committee, which closed the 2022 Olympic Winter Games two weeks ago, called on all international sports federations to ban Russian athletes and teams from global competition. 24 invasion of Ukraine filters through world sports and into their video games.įIFA, the Union of European Football Associations, and the International Ice Hockey Federation all leveled sanctions on Russia earlier in the week, starting with UEFA’s removal of the Champions League final from St.

Russian and Belarusian national clubs will be removed from Electronic Arts’ FIFA 22 and NHL 22, as the global backlash towards those nations for the Feb.

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