With the conflict in Ukraine still ongoing EA Sports has made the decision to remove the Russian national team and the Russian club teams from FIFA 22. Update 1.22 which will apply Title Update 9 will also make changes to FIFA Ultimate Team, Career Mode, standard gameplay, and more.
EA Sports announced the update for FIFA 22 on April 13 via the official EA Sports forum and the in-game menus on PC and went live on consoles on April 14. The update removes all Russian teams and stadiums from the game echoing the real-world actions of football's governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in excluding Russian teams from competing in all European and International soccer tournaments.
The move from EA Sports will come as no surprise to fans as FIFA 22 receives constant updates to echo real-world events in international and domestic soccer. With FIFA and UEFA making the decision to ban Russian teams back in February it was inevitable that the biggest sporting game franchise would follow suit.
The Russian Football Union (RFU) had appealed the FIFA and UEFA bans on its soccer teams but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the ban. It could be possible for Russian teams to be restored in FIFA 22 at a later date, but this will be dependent on the outcome of the continuing real-world conflict and the soccer governing bodies' decisions. EA has also pulled all its titles from sale in Russia and Belarus. Here are the full notes for update 1.22 and Title Update 9.
General, Audio, and Visual
Made the following changes:
- Updated CONMEBOL competitions.
- Updated CONMEBOL Libertadores seeding in Career Mode and Tournaments.
- Updated CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana competition structure for Career Mode.
- Added clubs who qualified for the 2022 CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana group stages where appropriate and updated rosters for existing clubs.
- These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADirect for updates on when this will be live in-game.
- Updated some player portraits, kits, badges, ad boards, trophies, flags, logos, banners, broadcast and presentation packages, and interview backdrops.
- Favorite Club selection has been changed to PSG if the Russian national team or any other Russian team was previously selected.
- Removed the Otkritie Bank Arena.
- Removed the Russian national team and other Russian teams.
- Arena player and goalkeeper selections have been changed to PSG players if players from the Russian national team or any other Russian team were previously selected.
- These will only be available following a server update. Please follow @EAFIFADirect for updates on when this will be live in-game.
Gameplay
Addressed the following issue:
- In a rare situation, the player-controlled goalkeeper did not drop the ball when requested, preventing the match from resuming normally.
FIFA Ultimate Team
Addressed the following issues:
- Packs of the same name were opened in the order they were received instead of the player selection.
- This issue has been previously posted on the EASF Tracker.
- The match lobby Ping Indicator did not always display correctly and would sometimes incorrectly show nine-digit numbers.
- This was a visual issue only and had no impact on a player’s connection.
- This issue has been previously posted on the EASF Tracker.
- Some Badge Items incorrectly displayed a placeholder image.
Career Mode
Made the following changes:
- The Russian national team and other Russian teams are no longer available in any competition when starting a new save.
- As a result, these teams will not be present in any competition and players cannot be offered a Russian national team management contract.
- Added a new intro video for the CONMEBOL Sudamericana competition.
Pro Clubs
Made the following changes:
- Kit selections have been changed to PSG if the Russian national team or any other Russian team kit was previously selected.
- Players can select different kits.
- Stadium selection has been changed to the default Pro Clubs stadium if the Otkritie Bank Arena was previously selected.
- Players can select a different stadium.
- Removed Russian-themed stadium customization items.
A point of contention among some players is the removal of content that has been available since launch with no alternate content being offered to players in recompense. Players who have Russian players in their Ultimate Teams or use Russian team kits, for example, can still keep them, but their prices on the Transfer Market will be fixed, to prevent any profiteering from their scarcity. EA Sports has also removed Russian players from its annually released ice hockey franchise NHL 22.
FIFA 22 is the latest installment in the soccer franchise and is one of the biggest sporting games in the world. Its continuing success is down to its online multiplayer modes that bring in massive profits such as FIFA Ultimate Team, Seasons, and Pro Clubs. In FIFA Ultimate Team players assemble all-star teams comprising players from different nations and clubs, outfit them in different kits, and adorn their stadiums with crowd cards, banners, and other designs acquired via purchase or rewards. These items and players are acquired randomly in card packs. Any unwanted items can be sold to other players via an in-game transfer market.
FIFA 22 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Fifa forums
