Russia and Belarus were suspended from Apex Legends and FIFA 22 esports competitions

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Electronic Arts has banned Russian and Belarusian players and teams from participating in Apex Legends and FIFA 22 competitions. This decision is due to the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine.

"We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the nvasion. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We have made the decision to remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries in our esports programs. Effective immediately, players and teams in Russia and Belarus are ineligible to participate in the Apex Legends Global Series and the EA Sports FIFA 22 Global Series".

Electronic Arts

EA's battle royale has its own tournament system called the Apex Legends Global Series. Russian teams played in the EMEA region. More than ten teams from Russia were supposed to take part in the upcoming split, including Gambit Esports, Team Empire, Magicians, Name1ess, VCTRY Esports, and others. Representatives of Russia would make up 30% of all participants in the tournament. At the same time, Russian players can be found in international teams as well, for example, in the Ukrainian club NAVI. The first matches of the split will begin on March 23, and the teams will have to solve the current situation before this deadline.

Sources close to NAVI told us that club is clarifying the details of the EA's decision. Team's captain — Anatoly "Wrugb" Belousov — is a Russian player, who currently resides in Turkey. It's not yet known whether he will need to apply for residence permit in Turkey, or relocation is enough to allow him to compete in ALGS.

When it comes to FIFA 22 Global Series - Europe East, only two qualifiers have passed at the time of publication. The only Russian player featured there was Ufenok, a representative of FC Lokomotiv Moscow. He managed to take 5th-8th place in the second qualifier as well as earn $1.25K and 130 Global Series points.

Earlier, Electronic Arts suspended the Russian national team and clubs from FIFA 22 and NHL 22 as a sign of solidarity and support of the Ukrainian people. Also, the Belarussian national team and clubs were removed from NHL 22. You can learn about other restrictions in the areas of gaming, esports, and streaming faced by the Russians in our article.

Related: Esports Charts statement on war & ways to help Ukraine