EA will allow Russian players to compete in FIFA eChampions League if they relocate before March 28.
EA Sports earlier announced their decision to remove Russia and Belarus as eligible countries from the FIFA 22 Global Series due to Russia's aggression against 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 invasion," EA tweeted. "We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Effectively 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.
The FIFA Global Series is the official EA FIFA tournament where top professionals compete in several tournaments.
All players must obtain a certain number of points to compete in the Global Series Playoffs. The Global Series Playoffs leads to the prestigious FIFAe World Cup.
With this ban, Russian, as well as Belarussian players, cannot compete in any FIFA Global Series event. Furthermore, EA can reallocate slots of these countries to other players.
While there are not many known Russian players in the FGS, Robert "Ufenok" Fakhretdinov is an exception. The Lokomotiv Moscow player currently sits in 8th place on the regional global series ranking. He has also participated in the FIFA Global Series European Qualifier.
Also, eChampions League player, Danil "Abeldos" Abeldiaev revealed that he may be unable to compete in the knockout stages. According to the player's post, he will need to relocate before March 28th to continue the competition.
With players needing to obtain points for playoffs, relocating for the eChampions League is the only way to keep one's season alive.
What other games are doing due to the ongoing invasion
FIFA is not the only game where Russian teams and players have faced sanctions. Just like FIFA players, Apex Russian and Belarussian players have to relocate to other countries to compete. Valve also indefinitely postponed the EEU Dota 2 competition.
Moreover, Riot Games has only allowed Russian teams to compete in VALORANT under a different name. The game developers also cancelled the League of Legends Continental League spring split. With the cancellation, no CIS team will attend the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational.
Asides from League, BLAST Premier banned Russian CS: GO teams from attending its events and also cancelled the CIS Qualifier. Players in organizations like Virtus Pro and Gambit can only play in the ESL Pro League under a neutral name while WePlay terminated all Russian language broadcasts. The conflict has also led Team Secret to abandon expansion plans in Russia and relocate teams and staff to Serbia.