EA removes Russian players from FIFA 22 Ultimate Team Packs

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"EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian People"

FIFA 22
(Image credit: EA)

FIFA 22 has had all content related to Russian clubs removed from its Ultimate Team packs.

EA Sports has confirmed it's pulled Russian players and kits from its FIFA Ultimate Team packs and Ultimate Draft. The move comes in response to Russia's invasion of its neighbouring country, Ukraine.

russian_items_will_now_be_removed_from_fut from r/FIFA

In an in-game message sent to FIFA 22 players and shared on Reddit, the publisher said, "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".

The company has confirmed the following content will no longer be available in FIFA Ultimate Team Packs and Ultimate Draft:

  • Player items from Russian clubs
  • Kit items from Russian clubs
  • Stadia and Stadium items from Russian clubs and the national team

This action follows the publisher's decision last week to remove Russian teams from FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online. At the time, EA said, "We're also actively evaluating related changes to other areas of our games".

The Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister recently urged PlayStation and Xbox to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian accounts as well as temporarily ban all Russian and Belarus-based teams from competing in esports events. Neither Sony nor Microsoft has yet responded to the statement.

An indie games bundle to aid the people of Ukraine is currently live. It offers nearly 1,000 games for $10 and has already amassed almost $500,000 in donations. The Bundle for Ukraine collection includes some gaming gems like Celeste, Superhot and Towerfall.

We've recently spoken with dozens of developers who shared what it's like for game developers in Ukraine, working and living under the shadow of war.

Anne-Marie Coyle
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and Games Radar. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.